The Grey Ninja
by Sylvia-Ann
Summary: In a mix of light and darkness, it's kind of difficult to trust your own element if it has been associated with everything to do with hate and evil in every fairy tale out there. But who says Ninjago has to fear the darkness any longer? Certainly, you cannot fear what is only made from light. **AU-y** Jay/Nya
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Guess who became obsessed with another show that was meant for children the ages of 7-11! :-)))! I swear to all the heavenly apples out there, Ninjago is ruining my life. I don't think people understand how ****_awfully weird_**** it is to starting crying, screaming, and gasping while watching the last episode of season three. I felt agonizing pain. ****_Physical _****pain. I won't say anything because I don't want to spoil anything for readers who haven't watched it (I actually just don't want to talk about it because I'm in-denial). **

**Anyway, this will have Ninja/OC because I'm insane and this is sort of AU but not really, idek. I'm kind of experimenting with this story so don't be surprised if the writing style randomly changes in the middle of paragraph three of chapter 478, mmmk? Okay, enough rambling! Let's start this story even though I have 14,000 other stories left unfinished because I can't stay on topic to save my life!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own any characters or additional settings from the TV show Ninjago. All OCs and anything else that Lego doesn't own is mine. (Which is virtually nothing)**

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><p><em>"All shadows whisper of the sun. " <em>  
>― <em> Emanuel Carnevali<em>

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><p>Chapter 1<p>

Grey.

The Grey Ninja.

Grey is a very, very, dull color.

It was the cloudy sky that shadowed the earth. It was the area between light and dark; a place where confusion was conceived; the shady darkness that was not fully believed to be…well, dark, but nowhere near light. It was what made someone hold their tongue because it was the color of doubt. Are you right, but wrong to some degree? Does that still make you right, or fully wrong? Evil has a purpose: to keep this world going, so, in a rhetorical sense, it's good?

The Ninja of Shadows.

Shadows.

An absence caused by light.

The darkness of reality to follow in its footsteps; concealed and cursed to fall behind. Movement of the shadows indicated that mobility is still liable to this Earth. It was still there, though ignored. There isn't really any harm coming from any shadow, but it is not one-hundred percent clean, right? It is common knowledge to associate darkness with shadows because that is what they are, indeed.

You need light to cause darkness.

Otherwise the whole ying-yang thing will be completely imbalanced and the world will take a dramatic turn for the worst or something like that.

_Out of every color, it had to be grey, didn't it?_

Makes sense. Her life, no matter how interesting she tried to make it, was just one big paint glob of grey matter sliding ungracefully down the canvas. Even her ninja suit had made it a point to rub it in her face.

_Maybe it won't be so bad once this journey—Sensei Wu's words—had ended. If I'm a kunoichi, then I am good. I serve for light even if my element is literally the opposite of it. Seems legit. _

Who was she kidding?

She was a walking contradiction. She was a ticking bomb waiting for the epitome of her existence to just go off and obliterate everything in her path. Guess she's just going to half to deal with it like everything else in her life. The destruction of her world was bound to happen anytime from now.

Chelsea was the Ninja of Shadows.

It's pretty self-explanatory.

It was a bright, queer, evening. Even with it being five hours past midday, the sun had shined boldly in its place. The surroundings of the newly built, (a form of payment for saving the world), actually-on-the-ground, dojo were blossoming brightly, the sprinkle of fall's sugar sweetly touching the atmosphere. Brown, red, yellow, and specks of green decorated the trees and bushes as crimson flowers sat gently in their respective places. It was nice. The crisp breeze that blew over the peaceful land blanketed Ninjago with serenity. It was a truly beautiful day.

It had been one full month. In thirty-one days and thirty nights, Sensei Wu—she swore he was some kind of ancient magician—had turned her into someone her dreams couldn't even comprehend. A ninja. A butt-kicking, knife twirling, back-flipping, hot-shot ninja. Just before the beginning of April, Chelsea couldn't even do a proper cart wheel, she was in the worst shape possible, running for two minutes straight was just as possible as sprouting wings, and even the idea of wearing anything _remotely_ close to a leotard was out of the question.

Those thirty-one days were pure hell.

But, now, she'd have a valid reason to actually enter through the gates of heaven.

Sensei Wu should really start some type of exercise/diet program. It'll make the charts, no doubt.

Today was the day she was to meet the other ninjas. It was kind of nerve-racking, but she wasn't too worried about it. Ever since she had stepped foot into the stationary dojo, she had always known she was to team up with the others. Chelsea was told they were out on a random goose-chase, Sensei Wu had planned, to give them enough time to properly train in peace. Multiple times, the young woman had mentally bowed down to the old man. Training in front of skill-full ninjas, that were national heroes, in the state she was in, would've been utterly embarrassing.

Although she had her doubts on his choice of the Ninja of Shadows, Sensei Wu had managed to pull through and come out victorious in creating another protector of this Earth.

Heavy stuff, but she could deal.

Out, in the front, on the balcony, the old man and young woman had stood, waiting for the arrival of the others. Due to the slight—barely—chilly air, Chelsea had decided to dress in a burgundy top, with sleeves cutting off just before her elbows, tucked into black skinny-jeans that started at her waist. Plain black flats were on her feet. Her ebony, curly, hair had been styled down, two front pieces clipped back. Sensei Wu stood in his usually attire beside her, sipping a cup of tea.

Her hand attentively rubbed her forearm, brown skin nipped. Dark brown, almost black, eyes stared ahead calmly. Chelsea was honestly getting a bit tired from standing out here. "When do you think they'll get here," she asked.

If Sensei Wu was going to fully answer that question, he would've said he _hoped _the ninja would've discovered their month long hunt for the Golden Geese was just a hoax. But that seemed unprofessional.

"Patience," he gently soothed.

Chelsea gave him a knowing glance. A tiny smile spread across her full lips. She'd give it to him. He was pretty good at walking around the truth. Instead of saying anything of it, the kunoichi simply nodded, and patiently waited for something to happen.

Luckily, for both Wu and Chelsea, the Bounty had appeared in sight.

With an ungraceful thud, the large ship had landed not too far away from the entrance. From the impact, rough air had hit the two and clouds of dust from the ground shied around them. In no time, out jumped ninjas. One by one, they lunged off the deck of the Bounty and landed, toe-first—seemed like Sensei taught that to all his students—on the ground. Red, blue, black, white, and green, started to walk towards the two, some of them in groups of two. A female with jet black hair lastly jumped out of the bounty holding a map and ran up, catching up to a man dressed in blue. Sensei Wu lifted his head, revealing his eyes and wholly gazing towards his students. A gentle, welcoming, smile gifted his lips as he observed their expressions.

They didn't look too happy.

Once the group of six had reached the two standing in front, Wu had decided to start off before any questions could be asked.

"I take it you have finished your quest?"

Kai, amber eyes agonizingly trying to hold back the scorching anger in his chest, crossed his arms. "Yeah," he said curtly, holding up a slip of paper, "it was really fun," sarcasm lacing his words.

He threw the paper forward, quite forcefully, and it floated gently to the ground. It read: _'I'm glad you can follow directions_.'

Chelsea had to hold back a giggle.

Apparently, she should've held back the smile too because as soon as it spread across her face, the red ninja had casted a glare towards her. Chelsea narrowed her eyes back at him for a split second in total habit. She prayed he hadn't seen that, blinking twice trying to recoup. Averting her eyes to the floor, she resisted biting her lip. If she set this guy off, it was bound to be awkward sooner or later. From what Sensei had told her before, she'd have to be living with him. She couldn't already make one enemy.

Before Kai could say anything more, the black ninja, Cole, stepped up, green eyes open with confusion. "Sensei, what was the purpose of that? There must've been some reason behind it if you had to send us away for an entire month."

"Do you know what I could've done with Nya in an entire month!?" Jay piped up, throwing his hands, comically, in the air.

"I can just imagine," Lloyd muttered a bit too loudly earning him a slap on the back of his head. The 15-year-old yelped and rubbed his head in slight pain.

"People your age shouldn't have such dirty thoughts," Nya scolded.

"Sensei, who is this?" Zane asked, gesturing towards the woman next to the teacher.

Sensei Wu's smile grew. "Ah, yes, finally I have an answer that will answer all questions," he said. Straightening his back, the old man firmly gripped his staff, the tea he once had mysteriously gone. The bamboo stick leaned towards the kunoichi. "This, here, is the new addition to your team," he announced.

Immediately, eyes widened. Wide eyes and some open mouths were sent Chelsea's way. They looked at the dark-skinned woman who stood straight, hands behind her back. A light smile graced her expression as her almond shaped eyes smiled along with her lips.

"You mean she's a ninja, uncle?" Lloyd asked, clear astonishment in his voice.

"Yes, indeed, my boy." Wu turned to the woman who held the attention and nodded his head. "Introduce yourself, my dear."

Taking in one calm breath in, Chelsea did as she was told. Bravely looking into each set of eyes, she said just as Wu had told her say previously, "I'm Chelsea Millard and I am the Grey Ninja, Master of Shadows," she bowed, "It is an honor to stand before you and I hope I will be of use." Just to get her mind off her trembling fingers, she smiled brightly, pearly white teeth glistening in the sunlight.

After the ninja's introduction, it had gone quiet. The surrounding air felt a bit tense. There was definitely shock and confusion somewhere in there. Chelsea stood tall even though her stomach was twisting in knots. Silence screamed in her ears, deafening her but she still kept her head up. She always knew she wouldn't be accepted. By now, someone would've said something if she were. Her element was kind of dark, maybe that's why they're looking at her like that. Maybe she didn't look like the fighting type. She really had hoped they weren't too prejudiced towards her. Dark brown eyes darted over to Wu who just looked at his students with expectant gazes, confidence surrounding him.

No one was moving.

No was saying anything.

_Nope. I should've known they wouldn't accept me. There aren't really a lot of people that look like me that are freaking ninjas-_

"Finally! There's another girl around here," the girl with jet black hair exclaimed happily. She pushed her way up to Chelsea who looked at her with surprise. "I'm Nya!" she happily said, taking Chelsea's hand and shaking it. The Grey Ninja felt a smile of relief fill her face as she looked into welcoming verdant irises.

"Nice to meet you Nya!" she breathlessly laughed. Nya was shorter by many inches but had a lean built. Her pale skin contrasted beautifully with her dark short hair and vibrant green eyes and full pink lips. She was a beautiful woman.

"You wouldn't believe what it's like to be surrounded by boys 24/7," she groaned dramatically for effect, "It's a nightmare."

Jay stepped beside her, giving Nya a comically pointed look. "I believe the term you're looking for is men." He smirked as the samurai rolled her eyes. Pointing to Lloyd he said, "That kid over there is a boy."

"Hey!"

Chelsea shook her head, chuckling at the small banter. Jay, a boy with red hair, pale skin, and blue eyes charmingly smiled back, sticking out his hand. She took it and they both shook their hands pleasantly. "The name's Jay Walker. I invent, draw, dabble in a bit of poetry, and kick major buttock," he said proudly.

"All around type of guy, huh?" Chelsea raised a brow.

"Yeah right. The last time he drew something I couldn't tell whether or not it was a rose or a donkey," Nya snorted.

Jay's face turned red, his eyes widening in disbelief and embarrassment. He said her name in a whining tone and Nya only gave him a knowing smile and muttered, "Oh, you know I love you." Chelsea instantly knew that these two were a couple, or at least were heading towards that way.

She shipped it.

"Why don't we all go inside so we can all properly introduce ourselves to our new guest, yes?" Sensei Wu suggested, turning on his heel and walking inside the dojo. Without any objections, the group followed him in.

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><p><span><em><strong>Lloyd<strong>_

The building where the art of judo was practiced was quite a big place. There were two main rooms for training. Having a flat hardwood surface, no one would've ever guessed that underneath were obstacles ready for use. Shelves decorated the tall walls, and they were filled with many weapons of all kinds, the gleam from the shiny metal were robust from care. Right next to the two rooms was a fairly average sized kitchen, in the back, a living room, and down the hall from there, bedrooms.

The structure of the new building was much like the previous one before it burned down. It was kind of a combination of the bounty and the old dojo. To put it simply, it was a house with a training area attached to it. Grateful for what the civilians had done, the ninja had made it a priority to keep this place in good health and mainly use it when there wasn't a valid reason to travel aboard the flying ship.

Down in the living room, the group had made themselves comfortable, some sitting on the couch as others stood. It was a comfortable air. People talked with whom they wanted. After everyone had fully met the new guest, the group broke off into tiny groups. Some stayed around Chelsea to get to know her a bit more whiles the others did what they pleased.

Lloyd had taken a particular interest in the newcomer. He didn't really know what drew him to her, but she just seemed, to put it simply, cool. The blonde teen had take this chance to learn more about her. Chelsea was really tall for a girl. She was as tall as Kai and just three inches from Cole's height; four from Zane. She had slight British accent. At age nineteen, she had already obtained her associates degree, (which he guesses was good), and was working for her bachelor's degree in psychology. But, of course, that had to stop for obvious reasons and when the young boy had asked why she decided to become a ninja so suddenly, her answer made him all the more amazed.

It was simply because she wanted to become educated in the way of life by experience rather than from the credentials of a text book.

"Knowing the Pythagorean Theorem won't really teach you how to live a genuinely happy life," she said with a shrug. "Unless you're into that kind of stuff."

Her personality wasn't something you could describe with one word. She wasn't exactly shy, but she could be at times. For the most part, she was outgoing, but not to an extreme extent. Lloyd had observed that the older woman was more laid back, but not to the point where she was nonchalant about important things. When provoked though, she was a talker and got excited about certain topics, never taking a moment to hesitate on her thoughts. Her voice was deep but feminine. With many laughs, he also noticed Chelsea had a habit of making funny faces when she was stumped, disagreed with something, or thought of something that didn't make sense to her. She was sarcastic and liked the color purple a lot. She couldn't tell a joke without laughing for five minutes first, had a bit of an obsession with hedgehogs and was a _very _strong feminist.

He had learned all of that in a matter of ten minutes.

"I've never liked science," Chelsea proclaimed, shaking her head firmly.

Cole looked at her with raised brows with his hands on his knees as his legs were crossed, Indian style. Zane, sat across from him, his legs crossed the same way, hands politely in his lap. Chelsea, Lloyd, Zane, and Cole sat in a circle.

"But don't you need to take a lot of classes dealing with science for a psychology major?" the Black Ninja asked.

She threw her hands up, a look of comical irritation on her face. "Someone could've told me that." Cole and Lloyd laughed shortly while Zane's light sapphire irises shined with question.

"What do you have against science?" he asked politely.

"Well, this is a long story, not really, but in seventh grade, worst year ever, I had this teacher named Mrs. Dublin. I swear she hated me the first day she laid eyes on me. My confidence went from up here," she raised her hand high above her head, "to down, so low, I can't even see it anymore. She completely ruined science for me," she said, blatantly.

"She sounds like my fifth grade teacher," Lloyd shuddered.

One side of her lips pulled up in a half smile as a little laugh left her mouth. She shook her head. "But, I will admit, I liked school a lot. I like being able to learn material while observing how different people take it in. Everyone is taught the same material the same way, in the same class, but it's not all perceived the same way. I don't know, I think it's pretty cool to see that. Also, hearing about all the drama and how people deal with it was probably what made me wake up at seven in the morning every day. It was funny. Don't tell anyone I said that."

"Did you do anything outside of school?" asked Cole.

"Besides eating and sleeping, I did dance, played piano, and took, like two, archery lessons," she answered.

Instantly, Cole perked up, his eyes widening slightly in wonder. He smiled as he asked, "What type of dance?"

"Everything but tap and lyrical," she answered, "I hope you don't think I'm still good because I haven't danced in about five years. Gained twenty extra pounds of pure fat and lost it all because of Sensei Wu. When the guy says no sugar, he really means it, geez," she snorted.

"No sugar? What'd you eat for an entire month!" Lloyd exclaimed.

"Almost ate my own hands," Chelsea said seriously before her bottom lip quivered and she was forced to let a dumb chuckle through.

"You said you played piano?" Zane continued.

For however long, the group talked on about whatever came to their minds. It wasn't too soon until the outside world was dark, and the sun's top was barely above the mountains. Wu had announced it was time for dinner. Jay had gotten up and grudgingly walked into the kitchen. It was his turn to cook dinner. Once he had disappeared through the doors, Nya had stood up and said she was going to help him. She also disappeared into the doors.

While they waited, Wu had suggested that someone give Chelsea a proper tour of the house/dojo and everywhere around it considering she didn't really get to see anything because she was in constant training. Zane had offered and the two had went on their way. When they were out of earshot, Wu began conversation.

"What do you think of your new teammate?" he said, sipping tea.

Lloyd was the first to answer and he did it with genuine meaning. "I like her!"

"She's really down to earth," Cole added.

"Hey, she's not too girly so she's cool with me," Kai said.

Nodding his head, Sensei Wu took note of the optimistic compliments. "Excellent. Then I have no doubts she will fit right in. I have trained her as much as I could, privately. It is now up to time and experience to guide her on her journey. I hope that you will help her in advancing, and reaching her full potential?"

Bowing, the three ninja said with synchronicity, "Yes, sensei."

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><p><span><strong><em>Cole <em>**

It was bright, the next morning. The light and airy scent of the morning filled his nostrils as the black ninja tiredly put on a pair of pants. A light breeze hit him through the open window. Cole, who had finished getting ready, sighing tiredly, rubbing his eyes once more before heading out the room. He had already woken up Kai, Jay, and Lloyd. Zane had been up already and went to wake up Nya. As he heard Kai walk off, grumbling about how it was too early to make breakfast, he went off to wake up Chelsea.

Once he had gotten to her door, he knocked lightly, calling out, "Chelsea?" He waited patiently for a response. "Chelsea, it's time to get up." When he didn't receive so much as a snore, Cole opened the door, praying he wouldn't get chewed out for unexpectedly coming in. His green eyes ran over the small room, finding the bed neat and clean with appliances scattered on the desk across it. He hummed in question. She wasn't here. Without another word, he closed the door and left to the dining room, looking to see if she was there already.

The Black Ninja had arrived to the table to see it set with breakfast already. Lloyd and Sensei Wu sat in their respective places waiting quietly for the rest. The blonde's head was on the table, eyes soaked with sleep. His uncle tapped his head with his staff and Lloyd sat straight up, looking around with wide eyes. Once he realized nothing was attacking, his eyes drooped and he put his chin in his hand, with a sigh.

Cole raised a dark brow in inquiry. Had Kai cooked all this already? There were eggs, toast, sausage, and fruits. Shrugging—too tired to think about it much—the team leader sat in his place. Soon enough, Jay, Nya, and Kai had taken a seat. Cole looked around for the last member but couldn't find her.

"Hey, Kai, how'd you cook all this so fast?" he asked.

The fiery ninja scratched his head before digging into his plate of eggs. "Chelsea was up before me and I guess she cooked. She thought it was her turn to cook so we agreed that I'll just cook tomorrow," he replied.

Speaking of her, Chelsea came out of the kitchen, curly hair in a messy bun. She hurriedly walked to her spot next to Nya and Lloyd. After greeting the group, she ate her own plate and indulged in a conversation with Nya. The two were getting along fairly well in such a short time. It was probably because they could relate to one another.

After breakfast, it was time for training. Today, Chelsea would have to demonstrate what she knew so far while the other ninja would critique her, providing helpful observations on what she could improve on. It was an evaluation they had to go through sometimes.

In comfortable pants and a t-shirt, the young woman had prepared to take action on the obstacle course. Chelsea bent her legs and then lunged forward. Cole watched as she jumped high in air, gracefully dodging each flat board of wood that came her way. She soon landed on her feet, and ran forward, kicking and punching her way through the course. He noticed she was very light on her feet, always on the balls of them. Out of habit, his body subtly jerked forward as the back of her leg was hit by a wooden stick. Chelsea winced but moved on. She was a very graceful fighter. Her feet were almost always pointed when she was in the air. Even if she hadn't danced for five years, it was easy for the Earth Ninja to recognize she was a dancer. Most times she was in the air, there was always some type of flip and she almost looked as if she was gliding. Her body moved like smoke, silently and lightly. With a slick back bend kick-over, Chelsea finished the course, panting.

Turning her slightly sweaty body towards their teacher, Chelsea bowed respectfully. Cole's verdant eyes looked to sensei who nodded in recognition at her. Chelsea then turned her body to the five other ninja, waiting for their critiques. Catching her eyes, Cole gave her a small smile of support, silently telling her that she did a good job.

"Students?" Wu lead on.

First to give their say was Zane. "You need to be mindful of your surroundings. It seems that all your focus is on what is ahead. There needs to be some awareness of your environment in case an enemy attacks unexpectedly. Overall though, you have fantastic balance and agility," the White Ninja commented with a charismatic smile.

"Thank you," Chelsea replied with a smile of her own. If Zane wasn't such a gentleman, Cole thought it would've been impossible to say that without sounding rude.

Next was Jay. "Yeah, you have really good flexibility. Use that to your advantage. I see that you dodge more than you hit, so try and combined your speed and flexibility to confuse your opponent so attacking will catch them off guard. Good job though," the Blue Ninja gave a thumbs up.

Chelsea gave a short chuckle and nodded, muttering her gratitude.

Kai crossed his arms in a thoughtful way. "When you go in and attack, don't be afraid to hit with full force. Your opponent is bound to attack with no restraints, so you shouldn't either. I would say using your legs would benefit you more than your arms. From how high you jump, you'll deliver a stronger blow with your legs."

She nodded gratefully.

Skipping over Lloyd, because he was also still training at a lower level, it was Cole's turn. He found coffee colored eyes gazing at him expectantly and open to any kind of critique he had. The Black Ninja scratched the tan skin on his forearm. "The thing that stuck out to me the most was that you're always on the balls of your feet. Although that is good for quick movement, when you're going in on an attack, having your feet flat on the ground helps with the deliverance power. Staying grounded will definitely help you in also directing the attack. Other than that, you did a great job. I'm impressed," he said and it was true. Not that he was saying anything bad, but he was expecting the new ninja to have fumbled quite a bit. She was a beginner, only having been in training for a month. She must be a quick learner.

"Thank you," Chelsea said. A small breath of relief fell past her lips. "Jeez, I was terrified for nothing. You guys are way nicer than you look," she sighed. When she realized what she just said, she covered her mouth. "I didn't mean to say that," she muttered quickly, bashfully smiling.

Cole heard the others give a little chuckle, as did he. It had been less than twenty-four hours and he was already noticing this woman's filter was disappearing by the second. Standing up straight as sensei moved forward, Cole couldn't help but find his eyes lingering on the new comer. He had to admit, she was very pretty. Her skin, a color he could only compare to chocolate, was flawless and her jet black hair and thick shaped brows framed her face beautifully. She had a button nose and full dark lips. Cole decided that her eyes were the things that caught the most attention. Uniquely almond shaped, they always seemed to be smiling. They were very beautiful.

"Excellent. Now comes your suit. Ninja-GO!" Sensei Wu shouted and he was suddenly a tornado of gold and silver. He spun past Chelsea and she yelped in surprise. Wu stopped spinning abruptly, sparks fading into the dust behind him. When the dark-skinned woman had stopped spinning herself, she looked down at her kunoichi suit with disbelief.

Cole would be lying if he said his eyes didn't get big.

He would be a dirty liar.

Chelsea was now dressed in a light grey body suit, leaving her thighs exposed. From the top of her breast, down, was the cloth material, a white strap wrapped around her mid-section. Covering the top of her back, chest and her arms, attached to wear the heavier material ended, white lace covered her skin. The rough material ended at her wrists, thicker swirls of white sprouting from the ends. At the very top of the main suit was gentle, wind-motion, designs colored white. Grey boots, which ended right under knees, covered her feet. White strips were at the top of the boot. Her hair had changed too. It was wavy. It wasn't up anymore. Instead, it lied around her shoulders, big and shiny. It was like a mane. A white head band, made out of some type of metal, sat on her head.

"Get a load of that," Kai whispered to the gaping ninja.

Cole felt his face heat up when Jay pushed his chin up, closing his mouth.

"Y-you want me to fight in this? Are sure this isn't some Victoria Secret fashion show!?" Chelsea exclaimed, obviously embarrassed. Her wide eyes looked over to the group of ninja. She saw they were staring and she made an embarrassed sound wrapping her arms around herself. The ninja only blinked.

Sensei Wu completely ignored her comments. He held out an archery set. It was a metal bow and arrows with a color scheme of black and shiny silver. "These will be your weapons. I trust you know how to use them?"

Nodding silently, lips in a weary line, Chelsea took a hold of the weapons. She squeezed her legs together, feeling the weight of the other ninjas' eyes on her. Cole could've sworn he saw her cheeks lighten, but he couldn't be sure. He was too distracted.

"It'll take some time, but I-I think I'll get the hang of it," she stuttered.

"Good," Wu nodded. "Now, I want all of you to continue to train with Chelsea. Is that understood?"

"Yes, sensei," they replied, bowing.

Without another word, the old man left leaving unbearable tension in the air. Looking back at Chelsea, the Ninja of Earth saw her eye twitch as her fingers trembled. She looked down at the bow and arrows in her hands before sighing dully and wrapping the container of arrows around her shoulders. It must've taken a lot to look them in the eye, but she did.

"Uh," she cleared her throat, "L-let's start, I guess."

It took a second before the five actually moved from their spots. Cole had to force himself to look to the ground as her back turned towards him. _Don't look. That's not polite. Don't look. Don't look. Don't look._ He saw Zane elbow Kai in the ribs after whispering, "Look at that butt," in his ear. The Black Ninja glared at the fiery man.

"I guess we'll start on my aim," Chelsea sighed.

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><p><strong>AN: Cue the groans.**

**Yeah, the OC right now is making me cringe because of how Mary-Sue she's looking so far, but I promise you, it'll change. I need to set the story up so I can end it with a successful bang! In truth, I've been planning out this story for the last month and I've got the main plot down more so than any of my other stories. I actually have other chapters already written (of course they may change) for the future because I had it in my head and my finger were just itching to type. Truth be told, everything I've written in the past has been on the spot that's why they're so bad XD! But, that's the beauty of writing unprofessionally. You can write the worst story ever and there will still be people who love it just because you tried. And you'll only get better from there so...**

**On a side note, I cant wait till Chelsea's outfit backfires on her. That ninja suit isn't very...ninja-material. It's very dangerous and leaves her open.**

**Awesome. **

**I probably seem so sick right now, but whatever!**

**I'm hoping you guys will stick through this with me! Hope you enjoyed it so far!**

**Thank you. **


	2. Chapter 2

**Second chapter set and ready to go!**

**Update: I just reviewed and edited this chapter and the last one. They should be fine now but if there are still errors in the text, please do not hesitate to tell me :)**

**Disclaimer: All Ninjago characters belong to Lego and all OCs belong to me.**

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><p><em>"<em>_The greater the power, the greater the abuse."  
>—Edmund Bruke <em>

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><p>Chapter 2<p>

**_Zane _**

There was something off. Zane couldn't really describe it in words, no matter how hard he tried, but something in the back of his head told him that there was something that had been…misplaced(?). The surroundings of the dojo were quite peaceful. There wasn't usually any ruckus caused by the townspeople. So silence wasn't an unusual thing.

But it was almost too quiet.

While touring with the new ninja, Zane had made sure to keep close by her because as they walked along the forest entrance, just outside the town, a shiver ran through his metallic spine. Buzzers went off in his head. Each time the wind rustled the leaves of bushes and branches, admittedly, the Ice Ninja found his heart beat spiking in worry. His light sapphire orbs scanned the forest as he walked, absent-mindedly answering any questions Chelsea had. There was just something peculiar about how the darkness of the forest had made itself so known to those looking into it. The trees looked the same, and so did the plants that lied along the floor. It was just that as the forest stretched on, this oddness swept over him. A forest wasn't supposed to look so…dark.

"Zane, is everything alright?" the dark-skinned woman asked, slowing to a stop.

Said ninja paused. His eyes narrowed suddenly as something had caught his eye. There was something in the forest and it didn't look like it was supposed to be there. Zane grabbed the woman's hand, earning a yelp of confusion, and hurried into the greenery. His head spun this way and that, searching for the thing that had caused a speck of light to hit his eye.

"Is there anything I can do to help you find whatever you're looking for?" Chelsea asked, slightly worried.

Reminding himself of his etiquette, the nindroid straightened up and looked to the newcomer. Zane gazed into brown eyes, giving them a calm and reassuring look. Instantly, it seemed to calm her down a bit as she gave him a small smile to him in return. "Forgive me. Do not worry. It's just that something here has caught my eye. Something glittery," he said, peering around. Chelsea nodded in understanding and began looking for something that would cause the serious ninja to look for so suddenly.

It had been about five minutes before Zane heard his name come out of Chelsea's mouth. Quickly, he got to her and his eyes widened considerably. In her hands was a grey gem, glimmering spectacularly. Chelsea gingerly gave it to the Ice Ninja. Zane took it in his hands, holding it delicately. Immediately, his mind began to race. It was just too coincidental. First, the Grey Ninja appears—so suddenly—and then this grey emerald appears out of nowhere. Things like that don't just happen. Something was up and Zane's sixth sense was hitting him on the head with a baseball bat. Looking to Chelsea, his eyes took in her awe.

Zane didn't want to think this. He didn't want to feel like her arrival had brought trouble but what were the chances of this happening? Before he went straight to questioning her, he thought for a bit. He had been with her the entire time and hadn't felt a thing. There wasn't any type of eeriness coming from the kunoichi. In fact, around her presence, he felt this sort of peace and tranquility. The first time he laid eyes on her, he felt himself trying to hold back a smile. Her eyes were always smiling and that, for some odd reason, made him want to smile too. He didn't really understand it, but the one thing he got from her was that she was good. Chelsea hadn't given him any reason to feel uncomfortable or weary. Sensei Wu had even been alone with her for an entire month. Surely, if she was planning anything, Chelsea would've done something by now to sabotage the ninja. It wasn't fair for him to start accusing someone like her of something so brash. Zane mentally nodded, making the decision to ask Sensei Wu about this, privately.

"What is an emerald doing here?" Chelsea whispered. She then looked at the side of the White Ninja's face. "What do you think it's for?"

Narrowing his eyes for close inspection, Zane answered, "That, I am not sure of. But I will talk to sensei about it."

Suddenly, the jewel glowed and Zane and Chelsea gasped. In his hands, the Ninja of Ice felt his body go warm. The brightness and sudden warmth of the light captured both ninja's eyes. It was indescribable, the light. It was like this heavenly aura had suddenly surrounded them, blanketing them in comforting hope. Then, as sudden as it came, it had gone and had dimmed down to an ordinary jewel. Recollecting himself from the odd event, Zane turned his head to see if his partner was okay.

He felt his heart(?) begin to race.

Chelsea leaned forward, her face very near the gem, eyes wide in wonder. Her lips were parted slightly, a small, "Woah," coming from them. Zane didn't know when he started noticing it, but she was very beautiful. Her eyes had captivated him even more. There were dark brown, almost black. At first, he paid no attention to their color. They were about as ordinary as any others, but with a closer look, he was mesmerized. He felt as if he had fallen in an endless abyss. In all of his seventy-five years of life, Zane had never felt his cheeks heat up like this. Chelsea was just so close and her scent of cinnamon and sugar was just so intoxicating. He had this sudden urge to kiss her.

"You are a very beautiful woman," he found himself saying as his eyes were in a daze. Zane got closer and held her chin gently in his hand. "So very beautiful, angelic, and…and…"

Chelsea looked at him, confused. She raised a skeptical brow, her eyes flickering between the dazed nindroid and the gem. Without a moment's notice, she took the gem away from Zane. The ninja blinked rapidly, his dazed gaze abruptly disappearing. A rush of emotions bled through Zane as he held his head, with one hand, wincing slightly. He blinked with confusion, clearing the glossiness from his eyes away.

"I don't know why, but I 'm pretty sure this gem affects emotions, because you were suddenly in love with me," the Grey Ninja concluded as she peered at the gem, wondering if the same thing would happen to her if she held onto it too long. Not wanting to take the chance, she set it on the ground for now.

Taking a couple seconds to run through what had just happened, and calm the flood of emotions racing through his mechanical body, Zane let out a breath he didn't know he was holding in. Warm embarrassment swamped his neck causing his hard drive to heat up at the realization of what had almost transpired. "M-my apologies for what I did." This really uncomfortable, foreign, emotion made him look away, unable to face the woman.

Chelsea shook her head, her brows furrowing together, and a reassuring smile on her lips. "No, Zane. Don't apologize. It's not your fault," she bolstered. Standing up, she held out the gem back to the Ice Ninja. "Why don't you put it away somewhere? Maybe if you only hold it in your hand, it does that weird thing," she suggested.

Still a bit flustered, Zane could only nod and accept the gem. In fascination and disbelief, Chelsea watched as he suddenly opened up his gi, exposing his chest and just _opened_ his torso up to reveal wires and switches. The nindroid tucked the gem in a safe place where it wouldn't interfere with any of his wiring before closing the compartment and tying up the top of his gi again. Zane looked up to see dark brown eyes dramatically wide. A sudden realization hit the White Ninja and he smiled calmly.

"Pardon me, I forgot to tell you. I am a nindroid."

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Nya<span>_**

She could not believe what she was hearing.

She just couldn't.

"What do you mean, you don't want to be a ninja anymore!?" Nya exclaimed, her hands firmly on her hips.

Her green eyes glared down at the new ninja who crossed her arms decisively, her dark brows furrowed with defiance, eyes closed.

"I quit. I resign. I'm not doing it anymore. I'd rather do four hours of homework every night for the rest of my life," Chelsea huffed, stubbornly.

Nya had to stop herself from going up to the Grey Ninja and shaking her so hard, her head would fall off. After her first hours of training, the kunoichi had stomped into her room, heated with fury. Without a chance to ask what was wrong, the Shadow Ninja started to profusely complain about how she hated the entire male population and how her ninja suit had already caused "a debacle between her and the team". Finding a chance to calm her down, Nya had asked to see her suit and, well, she could see how it had set off the young woman. She too had even joined into the ramble about how women were seen as weak, defenseless, and had always been a sex object in the past. It wasn't until Chelsea declared she wasn't going to be a part of the team that Nya's eyes widened.

That could not happen. Not only would it be bad for Ninjago, but Chelsea was able to join in on the fun without needing an excuse to. She didn't need to wait until desperate times called for desperate measures to aid the ninja. Although Nya was a samurai, she wasn't a ninja and they had said it was "too dangerous" for her, simply because she was a girl. Nya would kill to be in her position. And Chelsea wanted to quit because there were too many eyes? Ha! Over her dead body!

"I hope you're joking, Chelsea," she scolded.

The dark-skinned woman sighed heavily. "I mean, I'm not really going to quit…" she muttered and Nya breathed out a sigh of relief, "But your brother needs to learn how whisper!" she exclaimed angrily.

Mumbling something in Japanese, Nya shook her head only imagining what her slick-tongued-brother could've said. She would agree that Kai didn't really know when not to say something, but she had learned it was one of the annoying traits he would probably never grow out of.

"Ignore him. He doesn't even know the difference between red and burgundy," she chuckled plopping down on her bed.

Chelsea sat down in front of her, on the floor, Indian Style. She gave a small snort, smiling a little at the comment. With her chin in her hand, the kunoichi played with the end of her black jeans, back in her casual wear. "Just to let you know, Jay was one of the ones that didn't make me uncomfortable. He didn't stare or anything," a frolicsome smile crept on her lips, "Completely disinterested."

Without even knowing she was holding in a breath, Nya sighed in relief. She smiled up at the ceiling. Warmness spread throughout her chest and she mentally thanked God. "Proud of him," she mumbled. The kunoichi suit was very provocative.

"So are you and him a thing?"

At the sudden question, Nya felt herself blush, her pale cheeks painted red. The samurai sat up, playing with her fingers nervously, a sheepish smile on her cherry lips. At this point, yeah, she thought they were but they hadn't really made it…official. After learning that Cole hadn't really liked her like that, only challenged Jay because he was always shoving things in his face, things between the Blue Ninja and samurai had become somewhat more certain then they were before. They both knew their feelings for each other were pure and definite. But they hadn't acted on it, yet; meaning, they hadn't even kissed yet.

Answering to the best of her abilities, Nya said, "Well, I don't know."

Chelsea raised a brow. "What do you mean you don't know? You two seem like a really good couple to me."

The comment had made Nya's heart flutter for some reason. "I mean, it's obvious that we both have really strong feelings for each other, but he hasn't made it official," she replied with a bit of sadness. The fact that Jay hadn't asked her to be with him had been on her mind for quite a bit. In fact, it was starting to get to her. She couldn't understand why he was waiting so long to ask the question.

"You mean, he hasn't asked you out yet?" Chelsea asked disbelief.

Nya fell back with a moan of frustration. "Nope," she popped the p.

"Maybe he's just scared that your feelings for him aren't as definite as his," the Grey Ninja proposed.

_Then he's really stupid._ Nya sighed heavily. She honestly hated thinking about why he hadn't yet said anything to her. It just couldn't be that he doubted her feelings for him. The dark-haired girl had been so obvious that she liked him back. She knew boys didn't really get hints, but someone would have to be a bigger idiot than the Skeleton army in order to not catch on.

"I really hope that's not the case," she groaned.

Suddenly, there were beeping sounds coming from her computerized watch. Nya sat up, tapping the device. On it read: _'Ninjago City is under attack'_. Immediately, she got up saying to the other, "There seems to be trouble in Ninjago City. We have to go get the others."

Nodding, Chelsea and Nya ran out of the room and to the control room.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Kai<span> _**

There seemed to have been ruckus going on in the large city of Ninjago. The newly built city (still advanced but not the same as it previously was) had been quite peaceful for the last two months. Of course, there was the usual crime going on, but it was so minor that the ninja had let the city officers handle them for the time being, only intervening if the situation was dire enough. Kai would admit that he had been a bit bored for the past two months but he had taken the time to train and get better, preparing for any other-worldly dude that had decided he wanted to take over Ninjago.

When Nya had called them to the control (security) room, they had discovered that there had been a mysterious group of—they looked like—soldiers terrorizing innocent civilians. The police had tried everything they could but they reported that the attackers were fast and vicious. Having no other options—and they were bored out of their minds—the ninja had readily gone to solve the problem.

They had gotten to the heart of the city and the group of ninja saw that, so far, nothing had seemed out the ordinary. It wasn't until a shrill scream pierced through the air that they reached for the weapons, preparing themselves. The group of six ran towards the source of the scream. They stopped and looked up to see a middle aged woman was being dangled from a four story building by a black figure. Gasping, and watching in horror, the figure dropped the woman and she fell mercilessly through the night air.

Acting fast, Kai heard Zane demanding Cole to throw him and once the muscular man did, he watched as the Ice Ninja skillfully jumped and climbed towards the falling woman, eventually catching her in his arms and gracefully landing on the ground. Whiles he comforted the trembling citizen, a wicked laugh echoed through the air and the dark figure disappeared off the building. More screams of terrorization caught the ninja's attention and they saw people run for their lives, away from the many black figures that marched together, splitting into groups.

"We need to split into groups," Cole shouted firmly. Kai saw his forehead crease the way it usually did when his 'Team Leader Mode' was switched on. "Zane and Jay, I want you guys to take the higher levels; Kai and I will take on the south side of the town while Lloyd and Chelsea will take the north. Meet back here when you feel like you've cleaned them out. Now, we don't know what these things are, so be prepared for anything. And stick together at all times! Got it?"

"Yes, sir!" they responded quickly and raced onwards.

Kai ran beside Cole, racing towards the nearest attack. They didn't need to run for too long. They reached four of those black things kicking and punching a screaming young teenage girl.

"Hey, didn't your parents ever tell you, you shouldn't hit a girl?" Kai growled before lunging forwards. The fiery ninja took out his sword, striking three of the mysterious troublemakers back off the girl. Cole quickly retrieved the girl, pulling her away from the scene.

The black figures recovered promptly and stood in battle stances, growling ferociously. Kai observed his opponents with a hard analytical glare. These things weren't human, that's for sure. They looked like something that had been derived directly from the Underworld. In all black, their classic armor radiated (black) pure evil, a sickening atmosphere surrounding them. Their hands (claws), feet (more claws) and, he was sure, all of their skin was black. All that could be seen from the inside of the ebony helmet were glowing blood red piercing eyes with no pupils and dangerously sharp canines gleaming in the moonlight.

Correction, they looked like something straight from hell.

Unadulterated sin.

Kai tensed his muscles, waiting for one of them to make the first move. Cole had appeared by his side soon and he looked in disgust at their opponents. "Yuck! Who told you guys you were pretty enough to crawl out of the hell hole you came out from?" he bantered.

This seemed to trigger something because the three armored figures lunged towards them, snarling like rabid dogs. Kai stepped back as a dark metal sword, that had a black glow radiating it, made contacted with his. He grunted as the figure pressed forward with impressive strength. Finding his center, Kai shoved back forcefully, having enough time to jump back. He then charged forward, a battle cry tearing from his lips. The two began to duel, their swords clinking in unison. The dark opponent swung it's sword for the Red Ninja's head causing Kai to duck, but then it jumped up, kicking his head. Kai yelped in pain as he was kicked several feet to the right. Recovering, he shook his head and held his sword out in front of him just in time for the dark figure's own weapon to make contact. Kai kicked his feet out, making it fly back and brutally into a stone wall. Running towards it, he didn't give the evil figure enough time to recover. He delivered an uppercut, jumping up to land a tornado kick on it. The thing grunted painfully as it was helplessly thrown into another wall, cracking it. Kai then drew his sword up and dug it into it. The black figure gave a final growl before going limp. Taking out his sword from its stomach, Kai looked in horror and disgust as dark black liquid stained his sword, droplets running off the tip, slimily. Then, all of sudden, the alien blood began to evaporate right off his weapon before his eyes. With stupor, his amber eyes stared down at the dead corpse to see it begin to evaporate also, leaving nothing behind. Kai stumbled back in repugnance.

Just what were these things?

Before he could think about it even more, he fell forward as a body, which felt like rock, knocked into him. Kai opened his eyes, shaking away the dizziness in his eyes and looked to see Cole groaning, holding his head. The two ninja steadily rose to their feet.

"Those things are tough," Cole grunted.

"You have to actually kill it if you want it gone. But their bodies disappear afterwards," Kai told him.

The Earth Ninja furrowed his thick brows in confusion. "What do you mean, it disappears?"

Cole didn't get a chance to hear an answer because the remaining two charged at them, dark swords held high, a ferocious snarl pulling their ebony lips back. One of them jumped on Cole, making the Black Ninja land on his back. It tried to stab its sword into his forehead but Cole used his scythe to hold it back. He then kicked the black solider off him. Kai had knocked the sword out of the other one's hands and delivered several punches to its face before being thrown off of him by the one that had attacked Cole. His body made contact with a building, and he slid down to the groan, his vision blurry, and his head pounding ruthlessly. His sword had been thrown carelessly to the side. The brunette saw the two figures stand over him, their swords high above their heads. His body wouldn't respond to his commands as it stung all over. Squeezing his eyes shut, Kai waited for the pain but he gasped when he heard Cole's voice.

"Not so fast," the Black Ninja shouted.

Cole swung his scythe, cutting the two figures in half in one clean swipe. Their midnight blood splattered out, hitting Kai in the face and splattering onto Cole's arms. The top half of the bodies ungracefully fell to the side as the bottom half fell forward with an awkward thud. Kai reached up and grabbed the hand offered to him. Both faces were screwed up in disgust at the dirty blood on their bodies. But, just as Kai predicted, it started to evaporate off of them, and so did the carcasses. He smirked in triumph as Cole watched in profuse disbelief.

"Told you," he commented.

Cole could only watch as the black blood completely disappeared off his arms and into the night air. "What the hell," he breathlessly said.

"My thoughts exactly," Kai shuddered. "Come on," he patted the tan man's back, "We can figure out what they are later. For now, we need to make sure no one's killed because they mean business."

Cole nodded in agreement and Kai grabbed his sword. Then the two ran off.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Jay<span>_**

This was like a real life horror movie.

Whatever they were up against wasn't like anything like before. These creatures that were terrorizing the city were causing real life-or-death havoc. Already, Jay had saved ten people from having their heads cut off or from being flung off random buildings. These evil things, that looked like the sink's drain after Cole shaved, were barbaric. That wasn't even the worst part. The most horrific part was the blood.

They weren't human, that's for sure, but Jay wasn't used to killing anything with any sort of blood. Sure, he had banged up some people—for the act of good of course—but he'd never purposely _killed_ something before. But in this situation, he had to. The Blue Ninja was forced to knock some sort of body part off the evil figures before it actually died. And the most sickening part of it was that their blood was about as black as the night sky.

At last it evaporated away. It was really weird (in a cool kind of way) but it was better than having to deal with it staining his ninja suit.

Jay and Zane flipped over to get to another building. Once they landed, they continued to jump from roof to roof, looking out for any other perpetrators.

"Over there!" Zane exclaimed, pointing to a window where two of those mysterious figures were scavenging through a room.

The ninja hurriedly lunged into the window, breaking through the glass. The two opponents seemed to ignore them, as they continued to flip over couches, tables, and other appliances in the, luckily, vacant apartment. Jay raised his scared brow in confusion. They appeared to be looking for something. He would've asked what they were looking for but he had learned previously that all they could do was make gurgling noises. So instead, he asked the nindroid who held out his shruikens, ready to attack. He would probably know. It's Zane; he knows, like, everything.

"Hey, what do you think they're looking for?" he whispered-shouted, his hand covering his lips from the side.

The Ice Ninja flung his weapons at the ebony enemies, sticking into the back of their heads. They fell back, unceremoniously, black blood oozing from their heads. Jay followed Zane as he watched him, with repulsive dark blue eyes, rip the shruikens out of their skulls. They observed, silently, as the blood began to evaporate from it, and the bodies along with it.

Jay would never get used it.

"I have a slight idea, but I am not completely sure. It is best we ask sensei after this," Zane answered finally, his voice stoic as usual.

The Lightning Ninja nodded, gulping down the large lump in his throat. The two then jumped out the window and climbed, on the balconies, to the top.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Lloyd<span> _**

There was more to the list of things-he-remembered-about-Chelsea.

She was extremely protective of him; meaning that each time they went up against those black things, she would always remind him to stay close to her and literally scream his name each time he got hit.

To be honest, yeah, he found it annoying, but it felt oddly nice.

She was also a bit hesitant when attacking with her own hands. He couldn't tell if she was really afraid of the black soldiers or she was just second guessing herself. Either way, Lloyd couldn't pin it against her so harshly. This was her first real battle and it just so happened to be against these ruthless monsters. Go figure. The woman was probably terrified out of her wits. That wasn't saying that Lloyd, himself, wasn't a bit frightened, but after going up against the things he went through in the past, he had learned to let the fear push him through the battles.

Behind them, one of those black figures screeched, lifting up a cab and throwing it towards the duo. Luckily the civilians—hopefully all of them—had escaped underground, to the evacuation holding rooms so no one had been around except for the mysterious figures. Lloyd immediately stomped the ground causing a large rock out of the street, hitting the yellow vehicle away. Chelsea then took out an arrow, prepping it, before launching the arrow into its stomach. It dropped dead, and began evaporating into the sky.

"I don't think I'll ever get used to that," the new ninja commented, swallowing her spit.

"Me neither," Lloyd agreed, staring in bewilderment.

Out of the corner of his eye, Lloyd saw one of them jump out from nowhere, barring it's terrifying teeth at them in a nasty growl. "Chelsea, two o'clock!" he exclaimed and the kunoichi instantaneously aimed at the monster, shooting at it. The shiny arrow hit its arm, digging through the—surprisingly—leathery armor. It screamed out in pain, falling to the ground a few feet from them. Again, the Green Ninja stomped the ground driving a sharp, cone shaped, spear made of the stone through it, killing it.

Out of nowhere, one of the black monsters jumped onto Chelsea. She screamed out in surprise as it snarled in her face. Lloyd yelled out her name, running over to help her but then found one of them striking its sword down on him. The young teen dodged the weapon. He ducked down, kicking the solider off its feet giving him enough time to run towards his partner. Lloyd saw the Grey Ninja growl loudly in pain as the figure dug its claws into her arms, drawing blood. She somehow got an arm free and then proceeded to elbow its face, twice, before knocking it off her. Lloyd cringed as she struggled to get up, her arms baring tiny holes, spilling with blood.

Just as he was about to go and help her, he was kicked in the back. Lloyd went hurdling, flying face first into the cold hard ground. Nasty scraped decorated his peach face and he grunted, tasting the blood in his mouth. He rolled on his back, wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth. Suddenly, the same monster came upon him, holding a dark sword above its head. It struck the sword down and Lloyd moved his head just in time to avoid grazing his delicate flesh. He kicked off his opponent, allowing him to jump up to his feet. Charging, towards him, he let out a battle cry and let his hands light aflame with fire. He delivered a blow on its cheek and then round-house kicked the sword out of its hand. The weapon landed with a clank, and Lloyd took advantage of its shock. his hand burst into flames. He punched straight through its stomach, burning a hole. He retracted his hand as the thing fell to the floor. The blood evaporated in seconds.

A shrill scream pierced the air and Lloyd's green eyes widened in fear. When he didn't see Chelsea anywhere in sight, his heart thumped painfully against his ribcage. They couldn't be separated. He needed to find her, now! Running towards the source, he prayed, begging to God, that scream wasn't hers.

Turning right at an intersection, to the Green Ninja's relief, he found Chelsea hovering over the dead body of a soldier, holding one of its own swords into its head. Right before his eyes, the weapon disintegrated and so did the body. The dark-skinned woman fell down to her knees. Lloyd ran to her, falling on his knees beside her and placing a hand on her back.

"Are you alright?" he asked, watching the dark liquid evaporate off her face.

Chelsea nodded painfully, but she gave him a reassuring smile. "Just dandy," she strained through her teeth. She then took her hand off her arm to see it drenched in blood. Cringing, she stared at the ripped material lace covering her arm that had turned from pure white to a sick crimson color. She shook her head and steadily rose up with the help of the blonde teen.

"I won't be able to use my bow," she said nodding to the bow strapped to her back, "because my arms hurt and I've ran out of arrows, but I can still use their own weapons against them."

Lloyd nodded, making sure she could stand on her own. Chelsea gave a grateful smile but then frowned noticing the scratches on his face. It was as if the wounds on her arms had disappeared. She placed her hands on his cheeks, inspecting the wounds. "Are you alright?" she asked with a worried tone.

Feeling a bit babied, Lloyd felt his face heat up. Not having the heart to push her away, he looked to the side, annoyed. "Y-yeah, I'm fine. I've been through worse."

Chelsea's frown only deepened. "A young handsome boy like you shouldn't have scars like that." Her thumb rubbed over a certain bloody scratch on his forehead. "This one'll scar badly. At least your bangs will cover it," she speculated.

His cheeks only got hotter and Lloyd found himself pouting. Luckily for him, Chelsea stepped back saying, "We should star heading towards the heart of the city to see if any of others are there already. I think we've cleaned out this side."

Lloyd nodded in agreement and the two ran as fast as their legs could carry them.

* * *

><p><span><strong><em>General P.O.V.<em>**

It wasn't too long before they reached their starting point, finding that they were the last group to arrive them.

"We were getting a bit worried about you two," Kai said with a teasing smirk, patting Lloyd's back.

"We handled it," the boy replied with a matching smirk.

"Whatever these things are, are brutal. I have no doubt they will kill without any sort of resentment to get whatever they're looking for," Zane said ruefully.

"It's kind of freaky how their bodies and blood evaporate after they've been killed," Cole added.

"Does anyone have any idea what these things are?" Jay exclaimed.

If it was possible, the night sky had gotten considerably darker. Clouds of black covered the night air as shadows covered all the buildings and statues of the, somewhat, wrecked.

"Shadow Soldiers," a dark ominous voice thundered through the air.

Jay turned around, the hairs on his neck standing. His blue eyes glowed in the eerie darkness and his eyes widened in fright. "G-guys!?" he exclaimed through chattering teeth.

The group turned around to see a large mass of black smoke(?) creep above the street. It was like low, almost inaudible, voices were hushing and whispering amongst one another. The ninja looked around in terror, moving closer together, as the shadows creped around them like a cloud of thick smoke. It had become terribly cold and all sources of light had become cut off. They fought for their eyes to adjust to the darkness but then a spread of dim light spread through as the moonlight had somehow peered through the shadows. The thick mass of black suddenly stopped moving, pausing directly in front of the group that had their weapons tightly in their hands.

It felt like hours, but in reality, for half a minute, they just stared at the mysterious shadow because it had made no movement. Soon enough though, it began to grow taller. As it got taller, the density of the shadows got thinner and thinner until they were able to make a body out of what was within the cloud.

Standing tall, at six-foot-three, was a woman who looked like the embodiment of evil. Her skin was pure white, glistening and gleaming in the darkness, virtually the only other source of light. A crown of black jewels lied upon her head, on top of her pin straight blacker-than-black hair that ended just above her ankles. She wore a simple black gown, starting just below her shoulders, under a thick, large, ebony scarf around her back. In her hand was a midnight-colored staff a ball of glowing grey on the top held in place by a claw like design. Her eyes were a sickly green mixed with yellow into it. Lips colored like blood were plump and vicious. She had a sharp jaw line and bony pale fingers.

"So, these are the ninja I am prophesized to fight against?" she said lowly and slowly, her deep, feminine, voice erupting out of her cherry lips like a thousand drums. The mysterious villain then smiled wickedly, sharp, white, canines glinting. "Greetings," she said.

"Who are you and why are you messing with Ninjago?" Kai bravely shouted. His amber eyes did not waver as the woman looked down at him, eyes glaring as if he were nothing but dust beneath her feet.

"Pardon my manners. I have forgotten to introduce myself." Smiling, sending shivers down the group's spine, she introduced herself proudly. "My name is Queen Eltanse, ruler of the Shadow Kingdom, and enemy of yours, like no other."

"T-the Shadow Kingdom?" Jay stuttered out.

Eltanse nodded slowly, peering at them with boredom. "Yes. It is in another dimension but, it also exists in your world."

"We've never seen anything like you around here," Lloyd shouted.

"Stupid boy," Eltanse scolded, "You have a shadow, do you not?"

"You still haven't answered why you're here," Cole reminded with an obdurate glare.

"I am here to collect the seven emeralds and destroy you," she bluntly said.

Gasps filled the air as fright creped down their backs and into the pits of their stomachs. The ninja stepped back as their new enemy began to laugh at their terrified expressions. She rose up in the sky on a cloud of shadows to reveal an army of Shadow Soldiers behind her.

"I'll give you one chance to answer me truthfully ninja. Where are the emeralds?" she demanded.

"E-emeralds?" Chelsea whispered, backing up into Cole.

When many seconds had passed and no one was answering, Eltanse blinked expectantly. "Time is up, ninja."

"We do not have the emeralds," Zane boldly declared, icy orbs glaring at his opponent.

Eltanse clicked her tongue in feigned disappointment. She shrugged. "I guess I will just have to kill you now. It was a pleasure knowing you ninja," she said simply. Pointing a finger to them, she commanded the army to attack and the soldiers ran towards them all at once.

Knowing they were outnumbered, the group of ninjas began to step back, fear written clearly on their expression. They began to run but found that a wall of shadows had been built, trapping them. "We're trapped!" Lloyd exclaimed, fear pounding in his chest. Cold sweat dribbled down Cole's temple as he desperately thought of a way out of this mess. His eyes scanned for any passage way that could aid them in an escape but when he found none, he silently cursed.

When one of the Shadow Soldiers lunged savagely towards them, the group prepared for a battle they knew they would lose, but gasped as a bright light suddenly dropped down from the sky.

"Sensei Wu!" Chelsea shouted with a mixture of relief, and astonishment.

The old man held out a grey emerald which shined brightly. Eltanse screamed in pain, shielding her eyes from the bright light. The small army behind her let out shrill screams as they ran away from the man who held out the amazing light.

"Go back to the hole you crawled out of, you witch," Wu commanded walking forwards.

Eltanse sneered nastily at him before having to turn away, shielding her eyes with her cloak. "Expect my return, ninja. I am everywhere!" she roared before disappearing in the same cloud she arrived in, her army vanishing along with her, leaving remains of shadows in the air.

Instantly, the atmosphere lightened up and all traces of what had just transpired was immediately gone. The light from the emerald dimmed down and the jewel sat, dully, in Sensei Wu's hand. He tucked it into the sleeve of his top. One by one, the citizens of the town began to appear as danger seemed to be clear of the city.

Before any questions could be asked by the ninja, Wu held up his hand. "Let us travel back to our chambers. There, all your questions will be answered."

He began to walk and the group looked at each other in uncertainty before following after their teacher.

* * *

><p><strong>Yay! Second chapter done!<strong>

**I come back after five days and I already have a review, follow, and favorite! Thank you so much for your review! I sincerely hope there are many more to come in the future.**

**Anyway, after re-reading last chapter, and deciding it was like 5,000+ words of pure poop, I hope this made up for it a bit. There are many more action packed chapters to come and I can't wait!**

**See ya soon!**

**I also changed my pen-name so, no, you're not crazy.**

**Thank you.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Ninjago. All OCs and concepts are mine are mine.**

* * *

><p><em>"<em>_Flame, you came from me—"  
>—Sia <em>

* * *

><p>Chapter 3<p>

**_Sensei Wu_**

Sensei Wu didn't think this would be happening so soon. If he would've had some sort of sign that his vision would start to become reality this soon, he would've acted faster and maybe his students would've been prepared for what had transpired in Ninjago City. Even then, he should've taken this particular vision a bit more seriously and should've informed the ninja the first chance he got. He would now have to bear the weight of knowing that his ninja's wounds were partly his fault.

Admittedly, Wu told himself he hadn't done the best he could do this time around. When the stoic Ice Ninja had come to him, in private, asking what the precious gem was, at that moment, he had been taken by surprise. When the jewel was given to him he had told Zane that there was a new enemy on their behalf. He dismissed him before thanking the nindroid for sharing his new discovery with him only. Whilst reports of Ninjago City being under attack had been broadcastd to the ninja, he struggled to keep from telling them that these new foes were nothing they've faced before. But if he were to do that, at that moment, not only would the ninja go into battle with weary doubt, but he would be willingly let the innocent civilians face slaughter by taking precious time.

So, he had put his trust in his students and let them go without a word.

When the group had finally made it to their home, he first told them to get cleaned up before he would explain this new enemy of theirs. Once the ninja had been cared for, thanks to Nya, the old man led them to the dining hall. Surprisingly, the ninja hadn't spoken and Wu took this chance to take the emerald out of his sleeve and place it on the table for all to see. As he suspected, many eyes got wide with astonishment and some narrowed with confusion.

"Is that the emerald that lady was looking for?" Jay asked, moving his head to get a closer look.

Sensei Wu nodded patiently, his small eyes gazing down at the beautiful jewel. "Yes. This is one of the Emeralds of Dualism."

"What are those?" Lloyd asked with awe, staring at the dulled gem that had saved their very lives an hour ago.

Taking in a steady deep breath, Sensei Wu prepared to tell his students of the history of these gems. "The Emeralds of Dualism are very powerful gems that were created by God himself; existing since the beginning of time. There are seven of them; red, yellow, green, blue, white, grey, and black. Being a complete division of good and evil, as much as they can be helpful, they can also be very harmful if put in the wrong hands. They were first created to keep the many planes safe, only used by those chosen for good. The first elemental wielders. Your ancestors. It wasn't until Lucifer, himself, had sent his servants to capture the emeralds. Successfully doing so, he reaped havoc over many dimensions; turning peaceful places into dark realms.

"Realizing that the jewels were too powerful to exist in one plane, God sent the elemental masters to recapture them, with his help, and he casted them into different dimensions, making it impossible for all seven emeralds to be used at once ever again. For many millenniums, they have been separated and for some reason, they have been moved and have reappeared in the same plane and now the evil deity of the Shadow World is after their incomprehensible power. It is still a mystery to me how she was able to detect the presence of the emeralds, but that doesn't matter. It is dire that we collect those gems before Eltanse does, otherwise I fear we stand no chance," Sensei Wu explained, his grey eyes hardening.

"So what you're saying is that there is one emerald for each ninja?" Cole questioned, his thick brows furrowed.

"Precisely," Wu nodded, holding his bamboo stick behind his back, "Each ninja's emerald bestows upon them great power if used correctly."

"If that's true, then isn't there a Yellow Ninja? Don't we need them if we plan to defeat Eltanse?" Kai said.

Sensei Wu looked into amber eyes and saw them burn with their usual anticipation and fiery passion. He was internally glad that the new, heavy, information hadn't put a dent in his students' courage. "Yes. We need to start searching for the Yellow Ninja before time runs out. This is also why the Grey Ninja had appeared so suddenly. I have had a vision of the emeralds in use. By who, I cannot tell you for the vision was very blurry."

Zane asked, "What kind of powers do these emeralds hold, sensei?"

"There is not much known about them, but I am aware that they can be used for teleportation. I think they also have an effect on underlying emotions. That I'm not sure of, but while we continue on with our journey, we shall learn more of them," Sensei Wu then turned to Jay, "Also, I would like to ask if it is possible, Jay, if you could head over to Ninjago City and work on a locater for the emeralds with Cyrus. He already started working on the trackers but I think a little help won't hurt."

The teacher was happy to see the Lightning Ninja's eyes light up with excitement and awe. It hadn't been a secret that the red head was good with machinery and was a very large fan of the intelligent technician. With both of them on the job, the tracking devices should be done in no time.

"Sure thing!" Jay exclaimed with genuine enthusiasm. "I'll head over there, first thing tomorrow morning!"

"Excellent," Wu smiled. "Now, I want all of you to rest. Depending on if the tracking devices are done, tomorrow will be a busy day," he lightheartedly said, turning his back.

Talking amongst themselves, about the newly learned information, Sensei Wu heard his students leave; all but one. Behind him, Chelsea stood timidly, her hands playing with one another in a nervous habit. Truth be told, the old man had guessed the new ninja would've stayed to ask about what had been on her mind ever since he had laid the belligerent report on them.

"What is on your mind, my dear," he spoke with intimae, as if he didn't feel the ambiguity radiating off her person.

"I-I know this is crazy of me to think, but," she swallowed what sounded like a boulder, "d-do you think that my element could be…bad, I guess. I don't know."

He turned around causing Chelsea to glance at him but then gaze back at the tiled floor. "Why would I think that?" he calmly said, a smile pulling on the corners of his lips. Wu had seen this coming from a mile away.

The woman looked to the side in doubt. "It's just that…I'm the Ninja of _Shadows_ and…and we are going up against the ruler of the Shadow World who wants to cause harm. I can't help but think that maybe my element isn't all that good, and I'm not saying that I doubt your choices, but I…" Chelsea sighed, before fingering the bandages on her arm, "I doubt myself."

Sensei Wu placed a reassuring hand on the dubious woman's shoulder. He smiled gently with comfort, soothing the tornado of insecurity bleeding through coffee colored irises. "If I hadn't felt goodness and compassion in your heart, I wouldn't have even taken glance at you as you passed by. I am well aware of your element and you have to remember that it is you who chooses whether or not something is good or bad. Even darkness can aid in tranquility if it is used with pure intentions."

Chelsea blinked in thought, her eyes glazing over with contemplation. Her expression was a bit worrisome but he could tell some of the doleful thoughts that had been buried in her head had been casted away. Before she could say anything more, Sensei Wu patted her shoulder, turning on his heel. "Rest for now. Do not dwell on it too much or you will lose sight of your path. Oh, and don't forget to take your emerald. Keep it safe."

"Yes sensei."

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Cole<span>_**

Why did his back always have to get hurt?

Cole hadn't even been able to take his shirt off without feeling like a thousand needles had been inexorably stabbed into the tender flesh of his back.

Stupid Shadow Soldiers, always having to throw him into walls and scratch his back.

Mumbling irritably, the Earth Ninja sat on a cot, waiting for Nya to attend to his wounds. His chin lied heavily in his hand, his spine slouching over in annoyance. Emerald eyes scanned over the bandages wrapped on his forearms, a bit of blood outlining underneath them. He looked up to see Kai leaving with dressings around his head, and Zane smoothing something that looked like it burned on Chelsea's arms. The kunoichi winced, her finger tips digging into the seams of the cot, hissing in pain. The Ice Ninja mumbled a sympathetic apology and tenderly began to cover up the bloody circles drawn in her brown skin. Jay was nowhere to be seen and Lloyd waited patiently, next to the Shadow Ninja, for Zane to tend to the wounds on his face and torso.

They had all taken a pretty good beaten out there. As the leader, Cole was a bit disheartened. Yeah, he couldn't really control how much they got hurt, but it was still a bit desolating seeing his team-members so exhausted and worn out. What they had gone up against today wasn't something they had particularly trained for. These monsters that had—quite literally—crawled out of hell were barbarous and savage. They looked like something inconceivable from a really bad nightmare. It was obvious these evil beings had been ruthless but they seemed to be reckless too. Their fighting patterns were all over the place, he noticed. Cole had tried to familiarize himself with their attacks, but he had discovered the ferocious monsters just attacked without much thought and pugnaciously went in to kill.

It was, admittedly, a terrifying experience for the Black Ninja. Just thinking about how those insanely sharp fangs, glistening with saliva in the moonlight, aimed for his throat, brought shivers to his acing spine. He worried about how the bloodthirsty characters had affected his team-mates. For the most part, none of them seemed too scarred. Poor Lloyd was a bit shaken up, having told them he had seen enough blood to last a lifetime. Although Cole knew ninja saw stuff normal civilians would probably never see—he knew it first hand—he had always thought the young teen didn't deserve to experience such a thing at a young age. But it was the job he had taken on and Cole was very proud of him for that.

Lidded eyes then passed over their new addition to the team. He would be lying if he said he didn't think of the kunoichi once during their battles. Chelsea was a sore-fully new with everything there was to be a ninja, and to be suddenly forced to face someone that was possibly their toughest foe yet had to be horrifying, to say the least. When they had waited for she and Lloyd to arrive back at the intersection, his heart had been pounding against his ribcage, a million and one dire situations running through his mind. He had almost suggested they go look for the two newest ninja, (his dumb mistake putting them together because they were both still learning), but the duo had arrived soon and Cole shamelessly let a breath of relief flow through his lips. Still, he disdainfully eyed the markings on the Grey Ninja's arms and the tiny scratched on her jaw line. Cole felt a foreign lump lay uncomfortably in his chest.

He _really_ didn't like the fact that those wounds would most-likely scar her skin.

Unaware of Nya, who held a disinfectant spray behind him, Cole jerked forward, yelping in pain, as the spray made contact with his raw skin. A burning and prickling sensation spread throughout his entire backside and he had to restrain himself from jumping off the cot and moving away. Instead, he settled with biting down on his tongue in a fruitless attempt to lessen the stinging pain of the disinfectant. After ten seconds of agonizing swelter, an icy coolness began to sweep over his back. Cole sighed in abatement, his grip on the ledge of the cot loosening and the whiteness from his knuckles disappearing.

"Coulda warned me," he winced as some spots still stung him.

Nya giggled sheepishly. "Sorry about that. I thought if you were distracted, it would be easier to handle the burning." Cole only grumbled about how being unprepared actually made things worse, but the dark-haired girl just shook her head, a smile on her pink lips. Nya then dipped her finger tips in the salve and began to apply it over the hurt areas on his back. Her verdant eyes glimmered in jeer. "So, I see Chelsea's already got you making goo-goo eyes at her?" she hummed.

Cole raised a thick brow, his face scrunching up in tired confusion. What the hell are 'goo-goo eyes'? "Whadya mean, you weirdo?" He grimaced as he was thumped in the back of the head because of the remark.

Nya groaned in playful irritation, rolling her eyes. "Oh, it's obvious you like her, you don't have to pretend," she lowly said as to not attract attention from the three on the other side.

At the statement, Cole felt his face light up like a light bulb. His neck and cheeks burned with fire and he twisted around to stare at the pale girl with bug-eyes. "W-what!? No!?" he shouted, his voice exposing his rapid heartbeats. Cole mentally cursed at himself for how loud he had un-doubtfully become and lowered his voice. "What are you talking about?" he whisper-shouted with absurdity.

Nya only smiled knowingly. Her lidded eyes gleamed with eminent jive. "You know what I'm talking about, Cole, you big nincompoop."

This strong sense of vulnerability had the flustered man feeling cornered and he instinctively snapped back with more vulgar than necessary. "I seriously don't!" Cole felt his face burn even more as she just continued to stare at him with that look. He gritted his teeth, not understanding why he felt so defensive all of a sudden. The pressure of being under that taunting glare made him go crazy, like always, and he spluttered out, "Okay, so I think she's attractive, b-but I think a lot of people are attractive! That doesn't mean anything!"

Cole gaped. What'd he just say?

Nya laughed at him while he abruptly faced forwards again and pouted, crossing his arms childishly, his nose twitching cholerically. He grumbled indiscreet curses as the short woman teasingly ruffled his onyx-colored hair. Cole looked up in irritation as he heard the door swing open. He was chagrined to see dark blue eyes _glaring _hatefully down at him. Jay, who held a box of clean bandages, was looking at him as if Cole had just blatantly kissed Nya.

Tension whipped the air as the red-head callously dropped the box beside him and walked out, face red with anger, muttering to himself.

"What's his problem?" Cole asked Nya with besetment.

He heard Nya give a curt grunt. "Beats me," and she continued rubbing the salve on his back.

Cole winced as he felt her hand begin to aggressively rub the tender sores.

Well, it definitely felt like there were some obvious relationship issues.

* * *

><p><span><strong><em>Jay <em>**

The trackers had been made, and ready to go, at about ten in the morning. After waking up at the crack of dawn and heading over to help Cyrus Borg, the two had managed to create the main emerald locator on a laptop and eight individual wrist devices. It honestly hadn't taken that much time and was pretty simple considering the dark-haired genius already had the blue prints for the machinery. Jay had simply helped by physically creating them and encompassing the energy of the grey emerald into the devices' hardware so they would only track for similar energy sources.

"So the portable trackers will detect an emerald from a 50-mile radius while the locator that'll stay on the Bounty can go up to a two-hundred-and-fifty," Jay explained, as the others collected their wrist locators, strapping it securely. "There was also a communicator built into it in case one of us finds one and the rest aren't near. As long as there is a sky, it should be able to work just fine."

"Wow, Jay, you and Cyrus really outdid yourselves," Kai praised, inspecting the device with awe.

"Yeah, these are really cool," Lloyd added excitedly.

A sense of gasconade filled the Blue Ninja's puffed out chest. He didn't mind sinking into self-complacency once in awhile. "Why, thank you," he smugly said, a smirk on his expression. He haughtily looked at his nails, blowing the invisible dirt off of them. "It wasn't even that hard to do, really. All you just need is a sharp mind and a lucky wrench, which I happen to have in addition to good looks, a dashing personality, and-"

"You complement the guy once and it goes straight to his head," Cole chucked, shaking his head.

Everyone gave a laugh and Jay would've also laughed too, or at least playfully retorted, it weren't for the growing derision he felt for the Black Ninja. Jay knew he had to be causing the drift in-between him and Nya _again_.

For some odd reason, when Nya was dressing his wounds, he had tried to spark up conversation but she repeatedly answered with curt one-word answers he couldn't respond back too. He didn't think much of it and continued to try to get them to talk about something so his mind would be taken off of the terrifying creatures he had just faced. Right in the middle of his speech—about how black was such an awful color—the short woman had asked him if there was something he wanted to ask her, hope petitioning in her voice.

Jay didn't have a clue what she was going on about, so he asked her the first thing that popped up in his brain.

_"__How do you feel about cherry pie?"_

That had earned him a dreadful glare and a thump to the head. Jay guessed she really didn't like cherry pie, (which was good because he didn't either), and it was probably the wrong question. He had asked her what question she thought he might have for her and the green-eyed samurai just growled for him to get more bandages. So, like the obedient person he was (only to Nya), Jay went to go retrieve more bandages, and after he was gone for about seven minutes, tops, he's met with the worst nightmare of his life.

Nya was laughing that cute laugh of hers, while Cole was blushing madly, looking away in obvious embarrassment. Her small hand was ruffled in his ebony hair, and that was too much contact for Jay.

He was afraid of saying something because he knew his lightning fast tongue would dig him in a deeper grave with the petite woman. So he gave the girl-stealing-hunk-of-rock a nasty scowl before turning on his heel storming off.

That night, Jay could candidly feel the glaciers cracking, beginning to split blue and red down the middle. After things were beginning to look up for the two, this big ugly boulder comes tumbling in the scene, once again, to aggravate the socks off of him.

_Why can't Cole just find another chick to show off too for once in his life?_

Why'd it always have to be Nya?

Newsflash! Nya was his girl, not Cole's.

Grumbling irritably to himself, Jay gave the significantly taller guy a spiteful glare before strapping on his own wrist watch.

"We've already located the second emerald," Nya said, pointing to the device.

It was true, on the green screen was a white dot pulsating, nearly off the map.

"It's about forty-five miles northwest," said Zane, "If my calculations are correct, that should be Treasure Cove Beach."

"Then I guess we're going to the beach today," Cole finalized. "We'll take the Bounty and continue on from there. We've gotta collect those emeralds as fast as we can if we want to have a decent shot at defeating the new freak."

"Finally, we'll be getting out of this place," Kai exclaimed, cracking his knuckles, "I was starting to think I was claustrophobic." He then folded his hands behind his head and left. "I'm gonna go start packing."

Many of the others had gone off to do the same, agreeing to meet at the Bounty in about an hour.

* * *

><p><span><strong><em>General P.O.V.<em>**

Sensei Wu had stayed on the Bounty while the other seven went to search for the next Emerald of Dualism. Unfortunately, the tracker couldn't exactly pinpoint where the emerald was, so they were forced to spread out and look for it in the area where it was approximated to be. Endless miles of sand stretched on along with the blue ocean that lied with it. Zane had taken into the water, searching for it while the rest dug in the sand.

It had been at least an hour—maybe even more—and the group had been searching. All of them were beginning to get tired, their arms sore from digging and Zane was starting to get exhausted from swimming around for so long. They decided to take a break and rest for a bit before continuing.

Lying down the towels they had brought, the group took to relaxing. After yesterday, the ninja had been quite edgy and it was probably a good time for them to just enjoy what they could, when they could. It was a rather nice day. The season of fall had caused a gentle, but constant, breeze and the sun was partially hidden behind the clouds. It wasn't anywhere cold, but it wasn't too hot; just right.

Near the shore, Chelsea and Zane had gone to search for interesting seashells. Nya and Lloyd were having a friendly discussion about whatever came to their minds and Cole, Jay, and Kai just relaxed, resting their aching muscles.

The boys, who were dressed in only their swim trunks, sighed peacefully.

"It's been awhile since we've just sat back and relaxed," Kai said, folding his arms behind his head.

"You said it," Cole agreed, crossing his legs, getting into a more comfortable position.

Jay slid on sunglasses, smiling in comfort. "We better enjoy it as much as we can. With that evil lady on the loose, and these ancient emeralds of whatever missing, I feel like we won't be getting a lot of these days later on."

Out on the shore, Chelsea picked up a shell. Some water splashed onto her as she knelt on the muddy sand but she was in shorts and an orange bikini top, so she didn't care at all. "Hey, Zane, look at this!" she exclaimed, her eyes shining as she studied the shell. It was glossy brown, glimmering the reflection of the water. The soft hazel color that adorned the almost egg-shaped shell gave it a porcelain look, tiny white spots decorating the edges of the beautiful shell. Its underneath was flat but pure white.

"What is it?" the kunoichi asked in awe.

The Ice Ninja, who wore only swimming trunks, knelt to the woman's level. Pale blue eyes observed the ceramic-looking shell. "It appears you have found a Cowry Shell. Belonging to the marine gastropod mollusks, in the family Cypraeidae, the crowies were valued very much and used as currency in several parts of Ninjago. Still, today, their shells are used as jewelry, its porcelain glow attracting the eyes of many. It also happens to be one of my favorite shells."

Astounded, Chelsea marveled the shell, holding it delicately in her hands. She suddenly got an idea; her brown eyes suddenly brightening up in animation. "I've always wanted to make a bracelet out of these. Do you think you could help?"

Zane smiled in determination. "It would be my pleasure."

Chelsea grinned in appreciation and tucked the shell in the front pocket of her shorts.

Over with Lloyd and Nya, the Green Ninja held his cheeks in his hands, lying on his stomach. He was also dressed in his swimming trunks but had a green t-shirt over his torso. Nya wore shorts and a red bathing suit top. She sat on her bottom, her hands propping her up.

The young samurai sent a skeptical glance towards the blonde teen. He was looking a bit…worried. Lloyd wasn't as cheery as he normally was and Nya had kind of expected him to be more excited. They were at the beach and out of the monastery and Bounty. He should've been a bit more interested than he was now.

"Everything alright, Lloyd?" she asked gently, taking a sip from her water bottle.

Sighing, the boy swatted away some sand on the towel they shared. "Yeah, it's nothing."

"Sure doesn't look like nothing to me," Nya pushed. She sat up straight, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear. "Come on, you can tell me. I won't tell anyone, if you want."

Lloyd looked away, his lips scrunching to the side, contemplating on whether or not he should tell the fiery ninja's sister what had been troubling him for the past few hours. He scratched his cheek. Nya hadn't given him any reason to be weary of her in the past.

"Well," he sighed glumly, "it's just that…I'm bit worried about finding the emeralds, and stuff."

"What do you mean?"

"We've never ever heard of the Emeralds of Dualism and, all of a sudden, the ruler of the Shadow Kingdom is at our necks and we have to get them but they could be anywhere on this planet. I don't know. I-I'm not scared, I guess, it's just a bit much to handle all at one time," he admitted bashfully, his neck burning because he felt weak at the sudden confession.

But he was having a hard time handling this. Just yesterday, at this time, everything was so peaceful and then, suddenly, they were thrown into a bloody ring filled with nightmare-ish monsters that held no mercy within their hearts (if they even had one). And last night had merely been a warning, and everyone took a beating. He hated to admit it, but the Green Ninja was kind of scared for what was going to happen in the days yet to come. First they learn their ancestors were chosen guardians of the planes then that it's now their job to collect all the emeralds before the Shadow Soldiers do otherwise they wouldn't stand a chance. Wasn't that a bit much for a bunch of young people?

Nya scrunched her brows in empathy before giving the young teen an encouraging smile. "Hey, it's okay to be a bit worried about it. Don't get yourself down about it. We've prospered through so much in the past, there's no doubt we'll make it through this. You just have to keep your head up and fight your hardest. Because…" she trailed off expectantly, raising a brow.

"Ninja never quit," Lloyd finished with a bright smile, "Thanks Nya."

"No problem."

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Kai<span>_**

Turning over, onto his stomach, the Fire Ninja groaned in pleasure as the sun's warmth and the crisp breeze blended sweetly together, brushing over his tan skin. His hands lied underneath his cheek, amber eyes gazing over at the beautiful sparkling water touching the sky. This was heaven. To be comforted by Mother Nature's own gifts was definitely working for the ninja. Out floating far from the shore was a fin, moving at rapid speeds. A smile lifted the corners of his lips.

Kai always liked dolphins.

_This couldn't get any bet- _

Disturbing the peace in the air, Chelsea's voice split through the calm atmosphere.

"Hey guys, come here!" she shouted.

Turning their heads, the group got up without protest and quickly traveled to where Zane and Chelsea were.

"Look."

The emerald was glowing.

As the dark-skinned woman held out the gem, showing all to see, the bright, grey-tinted, glow of the jewel captured their eyes. It wasn't as bright as when Sensei Wu had used it to attack Eltanse, but it was still shining nonetheless.

"Why's it glowing?" Lloyd asked the question that had been at the tips of their tongues.

"Zane and I think the gems react when they're near another gem," Chelsea said, staring at the emerald in concentration. "Look, when I start walking this way," she walked backwards, Jay and Cole moving out of the way, "the emerald starts to dull."

The girl was at least ten feet back and, just as she said, the grey emerald started to dull.

"And then if I move this way," she took large strides northeast, "the emerald brightens."

"So that means the next emerald must be over there somewhere," Cole announced and the group immediately ran forwards, watching as the emerald's glow began to increase in brightness.

"I think this is as bright as it gets," Chelsea said, having to narrow her eyes because of its shine."

"Then let's start digging!" Jay shouted.

Right away, everyone spread out, going on their knees and digging for the lost jewel. Kai ran by the side of a large stone and scooped up large quantities of sand with his hands. He didn't know why, but this strong feeling in his gut was telling him to search around the stony area of the beach. It was probably going to take awhile before one of them found the emerald because there was a lot of ground to cover (or sand, if you must). But they would dig even if it meant having to dig up this entire section of the beach. They had to find that emerald no matter what.

And they had time to kill. It was, like, noon.

A good hour had past and none of them found anything, but they kept going.

Kai had dug up many holes around the rocks. Some deep, some shallow because he was getting tired, but he went on to the next spot. When he got to a medium sized black stone, one that was covered in seaweed, this feeling shot through the nerves of his chest. Immediately, he acted on it. It was the same feeling he got when he knew someone was walking near him, though he couldn't see it. Something was definitely there.

Getting on his knees, his sore fingers clawed at the ground, grains of sand uncomfortably edging their way up his dirtied fingernails. He ignored that. The mysterious feeling was now thumping on his ribcage. Reddish-brown eyes narrowed in determination, their usual flame igniting within them. Kai was now aggressively shoving the sand away, gritting his teeth in fortitude. Something had to be there! Yeah, his gut feelings usually didn't always bring positive bearings, but this was different. Something about the way his heart felt, and the way his blood was rushing, the adrenaline pumping wildly in his veins…it just felt too strong to be nothing. There just had to be-

Kai cursed as the tip of his nails bent backwards, shooting up waves of pain through his fingers. He held his hands close to his chest, wincing as he looked at their redness. Shaking his head, he peered down at what he might've hit and his eyes widened in discovery.

"Eureka," he lowly said.

Something hard, red, and shiny stuck out from the yellow sand and Kai wasted no time digging the rest of it out the ground. In no time, he held the crimson jewel in his hand, the emerald glowing because of how close it was to the grey one.

Kai stood up on his feet and raced to the others. "Guys, I found the emerald!" he shouted with an excited smile on his face.

The groups got on their feet, and surrounded the boy with the gem, awing at the precious stone. Kai and Cole high-fived in victory.

Nya walked back, picking up her bag. "Well, that was easier than I expected. We should start-"

A terrifying screech filled their eardrums causing the heroes to cover their ears, squeezing their eyes shut in pain.

"W-what the heck!?" the Blue Ninja shouted, gritting his teeth.

Before anyone could detect it, a large ebony tentacle wrapped around wrapped around the dark-haired girl. Nya gasped as the slimy limb constricted her movements, causing her to drop the bag and shout as she was taken back.

"Nya!" Kai and Jay shouted.

The terrible shrieking had stopped—finally—and the group turned around only to have their hearts drop. Up in the air was the dreadful, villainous, woman they had hoped to not see for quite awhile. Eltanse stood on a cloud of shadows next to what looked like a possessed 50 foot tall octopus. Its entire body was black, the suction cups underneath a sickly purple. The eyes of the octopus were a solid, dead, grey, its sclera completely gone. As it tipped back, giving another deadly roar, clearly seen in the light of day were endless rows of razor sharp teeth. Eltanse only smirked wickedly, her iniquitous gaze falling upon the ninja below her.

"What are you doing here?" Cole growled loudly.

"I want the emerald you've found and I will have it," she blatantly spoke, her eyes showing no nonsense. "Give it to me now, or the girl dies," she sneered.

The tentacle holding the half-Asian girl grew tighter on her body. Nya bit her tongue, trying desperately to hold back the screams threatening to tear through her throat. She struggled, trying to get out of its grip but when she felt the bones inside her torso start to sting, she couldn't hold back her scream.

Kai's heart pounded menacingly as the screams of his sister undoubtedly tore through his heart. He called out her name in worry as he saw her give out, falling limp in the air, panting harshly. His jaw tensed, teeth gnashing harshly against one another in fiery anger.

"Let my sister go, _now_," he demanded.

Eltanse merely blinked. The sky seemed to morph into a tormenting mix of black and purple, the clouds turning an angry grey. The once calm blue waters smashed against the surface, forcing the ninja to jump back in fear of getting taken into the mad sea.

The tall deity pointed to the ninja with her staff. "Kill them," she ordered.

Without hesitation, the deranged sea creature howled, flinging several of its tentacles, the ends of them becoming acute.

Quickly, the ninja transformed in their attire, tensing for battle. Their elemental swords had been left on the Bounty which had to be far away because sensei had told them he was going to see if another emerald was around here. For now, all they had were their ordinary weapons, so they'd have to work with them.

For Kai, if it meant saving his sister, he'd go with his bare hands if he had to.

Jumping away, the ninja evaded the sharp tentacles that struck the ground, heavily shaking it. Out of the corner of his eye, Kai saw Cole and Zane run up to a flying tentacle, jumping up and delivering several blows to it. The nindroid extended his hand, his elemental power freezing one of the limbs. He and Cole slid down it, Zane flipping off it before the Black Ninja took his scythe and slammed it down on the tentacle, eliminating the ice.

"Bad octopus, bad!" Cole scolded.

The kraken-like creature gave a shrill vociferate in agonizing pain and anger.

Jay leaped into the air, spinning into a drill charged with his element and into a tentacle. The limb retracted back before hitting the blue ninja, sending him back. Jay grunted in surprise before impacting the ground. He quickly recovered and flipped to his feet and charged at the sea monster. He flung his nun-chucks, successfully hitting an arm.

"How'd you like that you oversized sushi dish!?" he smirked.

Chelsea ducked in time, the deathly limb sweeping over her head, sure to cut her head clean off her shoulders. She ran across the sand, up the side of a large sea cave and hooked herself onto one of the arms. She grimaced as she was thrown about, carelessly, but she still held on. Finding it in herself to stand, she flipped off, aiming a sharp arrow at the side of the octopus' head, the arrow head victoriously digging into its skin. It roared again and the kunoichi lost her balance, falling harshly into the sand, but speedily recovering.

"Kai!" Lloyd shouted while dodging a tentacle.

The brunette jumped away just before he was impaled.

"What is it?" he yelled back, hitting the same arm away with his sword.

The teen grunted as he jumped, giving a tornado kick and burning the vicious limb with fire. "Remember how sensei used the emerald yesterday?"

"What about it!?"

He saw Lloyd roll his eyes. "You and Chelsea should use it!"

Instantly, Kai's eyes lightened in recognition. He dodged the flailing limbs and ran towards the grey kunoichi. The Fire Ninja saw her swiftly evading the arms, sometimes stumbling back if the tentacle grazed her. He hurriedly got to where he was sure she could hear him.

"Hey, Chels," he called out and the girl snapped her head in his direction. They both leapt high in the sky, suspended in the brisk air. "We need to try and work these emeralds just like how sensei did last night. Are ya up for it?"

Chelsea nodded speaking a confirmative, "Yeah," before taking out the grey stone.

Kai's determined stare locked on Eltanse who just floated high up in the sky, apathetically peering down at the scene, observing the wild animal and the ninja. He stuck out the emerald and furiously yelled out, "Take this!"

He closed his eyes, expecting the blinding light of the emerald.

But it didn't come.

The Red Ninja felt gravity take a hold of him, once again, and pull him down.

"It isn't working!" Chelsea shouted with trepidation, her eyes fearful.

His wide eyes stared at the jewel with aggravation. "Damn it, why isn't it working!" he cursed.

"Kai, Chelsea, look out!" Zane bellowed, but it was too late.

They were both wacked with a tentacle, painfully flung into the side of a cave wall. Groaning, they both fell to the ground, Kai coughing hoarsely. He watched, with one eye opened, as Lloyd had been hit, crashing into the sand, creating a small crater. Cole shouted his name, lunging his way towards the fallen boy before an arm wrapped around his own body and Lloyd's.

"Let them go!" Jay shouted tersely, all the humor left from his bruised face. He spun his weapon above his head, leaping up only to have the sharp end of the tentacle nip him in his side, drawing blood and sending him crashing near the shore.

Kai gritted his teeth in anger. They were getting beaten. He needed to do something quickly. Putting away the emerald, he tried to get up, but his sides screamed in protest. Bowing his head, Kai cursed silently. Some of his ribs had been either broken or severely bruised. Out in the distance, someone had screamed for him to move out of the way. He looked up, between his sweaty bangs, to see an arm darting for him. He tried so hard to move, but he couldn't. Everywhere was burning with increasing pain. It just wasn't possible.

Holding his side, Kai squeezed his eyes shut, waiting for the—absolutely painful—smack.

But that didn't come either.

Well, it did, but not by the tentacle.

Grainy sand was shoved into the fiery ninja's mouth. He coughed out what he could before shaking his eyes, desperately trying to clear his blurry vision. With horror, he watched as the Shadow Ninja, who had pushed him out of the way, was captured and held high in the air.

Chelsea grunted gravelly, her legs kicking as she struggled to get out of the creature's grip. She was brought up to Eltanse, the sickly pale woman giving her a glare that could murder serial killers.

"Ninja," she boomed, her deep voice attracting the attention of many, "I do not kid. Give me the emerald."

_(Doused with gasoline, the corpses were glimmering in the sweltering heat…) _

The struggling woman scowled and shook her head. "No," she defied.

Eltanse gave her a bored stare.

Suddenly, the kunoichi, who was still in the octopus's constricting grip, was sent face first into a massive rock, powerfully. Kai felt himself scream her name along with many others. Chelsea was brought back to Eltanse, her hands and legs twitching, bloody bruises and scratches decorating her face and body.

"Give me your emerald, girl," Eltanse said, once again, as if she were a mother talking to her spoiled five-year-old.

Chelsea struggled to keep her head up, clenching her teeth so tightly together Kai thought they would crack under pressure. Tears had escaped her eyes but she still held a courageous expression.

_(The flames came alive with one single stride against the grainy side of the box…)_

"N-No."

Kai almost screamed when she was smashed into the rock again. His mouth hung agape, eyes wide with consternation as the tentacle retracted her from the wall of rock. Chelsea's head had fallen back, her eyes wide and vacant as they stared up into the dark sky. Dark brown eyes were then hidden under eye lids, fluttering closed like the gentle wings of a butterfly. Her fingers twitched inhumanely and a stream of blood ran down the sides of her mouth. She looked like a swatted fly.

He couldn't tell if she was dead or not.

From the side, he could hear Cole screaming, cursing, at the witch to let her go and Lloyd and Nya (when did she wake up?), screaming, crying, in horror.

Eltanse gave the limp woman a nonchalant stare before scoffing.

"Pathetic."

Then, as if she were a used cup, the kunoichi was carelessly flung into the ocean, breaking the surface, the cold water enveloping her body completely. Zane jumped into the water, disappearing within the waves also.

Soundlessly, Kai let the tentacle wrap around his own form, ignoring the burning in his sides. He heard his sister shrieking for him to escape, not wanting the same thing to happen to him, but all the fiery ninja did was bow his head, his floppy hair covering his eyes.

Kai said nothing as he was brought up to the dark queen, her yellow-green eyes staring disentranced. _What kind of rage was this?_ There was nothing but the crashes of the waves and the brisk air hitting his eardrums until she spoke with the same leveled tone.

"Do you choose to suffer the same fate?"

_(He flung the match…)_

Nothing was said for awhile. The squawks of passing seagulls added to the tension rioting within the scene.

He muttered something.

Eltanse blinked. "Excuse me?"

The dahlia emerald coruscated.

"I…_will kill you_."

Blood red eyes pierced through dirtied bangs.

_(Fire, meet gasoline…)_

* * *

><p><strong><em>"How do you feel about cherry pie?"<em>**

**_Jay cracks me up even though he has never said it. He said it in my head and that is all that matters.  
>So, obviously, there's some conflict stirring in that area so that should be fun.<em>**

**_Also...cliffhanger!_**

**_Ooooh, I can't wait to post the next chapter. It's going to be super epic (not really). Actually, I've already written about a third of chapter four because it was supposed to be included in this chapter but it would make this chapter waaayyyy too long. It's long enough as it is. Anyway, there's not much to say other than sorry if the fighting scenes sucked. Action is not my thing, but I'm giving it a go with this story!_**

**_The idea of the Emeralds of Dualism came from a dream I had. I don't really feel like explaining it but they were there and someone called them something similar to that so now I'm using it in my story. I had to research a bit into it because I wanted to add power sources that were both equally good and bad. I wrote them as emeralds and not weapons or something just because of SonicX haha. Anyway, yeah, not much to say about them. It's all just imagination!_**

**_If you have any question, feel free to ask through reviews or PM. I'll respond when I can._**

**_I hope you enjoyed this chapter and reviews, favourites, and follows are cherished!_**

**_Oh, and Happy New Year!_**

Thank you.


	4. Chapter 4

**LightningDanino23: Thank you so much! Ahhhhh! It means a lot! All your questions will be answered and hopefully new ones will arise :)**

**ShadowCinder333: Thank you so much! I'm never comfortable with writing fighting scenes haha. Thank you for pointing out the comma thing too. I always want to stuff so much information into one sentence that I completely forget the rules and it just messes everything up. It sucks that English isn't my first language, but I'm still learning! I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

**ML-AWESOMENESS: Awesome name! Thank you! I really appreciate it. I didn't think much of the notes but it's really nice for you to say that. I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

_**A/N: Thank you for all the reviews and favorites/follows! Keep em' coming!**_**Disclaimer: All Ninjago characters belong to Lego. All OCs and concepts are mine. **

* * *

><p>"<em>We are students from the graduated class of: We made it!"<br>—Shane Koyczan_

* * *

><p>Chapter 4<p>

_**Zane **_

She was alive.

She _was _alive.

Hurting, but alive.

That was what Zane kept telling himself as his legs kicked forwards. Pale blue eyes glowed in the dark sea, looking for the new ninja. Passing by, he saw a school of indigenous fish trying to keep together as the rough waves kept pulling them back.

The average human could go without air for about forty seconds meaning he's got about thirty-two seconds before the Grey Kunoichi was-

_No._

She_ was_ alive and she was going to _remain_ alive.

Movemovemovemove.

Swimswimswimswim.

The Polish android kicked harder, his arms helping him move past the strength of the current.

Zane would admit that if it hadn't been for the last surge of logical thinking left in his apparatus, he would've somehow destroyed the wretched octopus for hurting his friends. It hadn't been processed that the rest of his family could be dead by now, but a part of him scolded himself, telling him that he needed to put trust in his teammates and go find the girl the was most-likely dea-

_Alive_.

For the first time in his life, Zane cursed his father for installing such sensitive senses within his person. The sickening crunch of stone connecting with soft flesh and bone was left oscillating off the crevices of his memory drive, installing—forever— in his hard drive. The clear sight of the girl that looked like a ballerina that had broken her bones in the most impossible of ways, hanging like a rag doll, would never leave the front of his sight. Zane would have to deal with the images and sounds for next few nights.

Twenty-three seconds.

Swim harder!

Harderharderharderharder.

What was this strange beating of his spurious heart? It was familiar. Yes, definitely. Fear. It had to be. Real fear was crawling up the red and green wires of his machine, causing goose bumps on his semi-synthetic skin. He had just watched the girl faint, gurgling her own blood, and then dropped into the sea like a sack of rice for dead.

All this for one of the Emeralds of Dualism.

How many more of these situations would he find himself in before he would tear out his wires, screaming to the heavens to relieve him of this uncomfortable pain that had begun to settle in his chest?

Zane shook his head, narrowing his eyes in concentration. He needed to focus, not dwell on his mental altercations. That would help no one in the end and he really didn't need to waste anymore time because he had eleven more seconds left and if he didn't reach her in time, he didn't know what he would do to-

Chelsea!

Floating silently along the current of the sea was the supple body of the Shadow Ninja. Zane pushed further and, in no time, his fingers had gripped onto her. Foreign feelings of robust relief and terror exploded within the nindroid's chest. His large hand gripped onto her head, forcing it against his shoulder because if it wasn't there, Zane wouldn't be able to keep telling himself that her lifeless legs and cold body were just from being in the ocean. If her body wasn't pushed against him so much that they would somehow morph into one, Zane would shutdown right now.

Kicking up to the surface with as much strength as he could muster, the White Ninja broke the both of them out of the cages of grey water. Zane shoved the limp woman onto his back, kicking his way to the shore, gritting his teeth in concentration. He paid no attention as the water crashed into his face, the salt burning his eyes raw. This was now mind over matter. Nothing was going to stop him from reaching the yellow sand.

And nothing did.

Dragging his waterlogged body onto the shore, he took a hold of the kunoichi, placing her on her back. The ninja lowered his ear to her mouth, placing a hand on her chest for any movement.

She wasn't breathing.

She _wasn't breathing_.

Jesus Christ—

Zane's eyes had never been so full of emotion ever before. His pale blue orbs were glistening and burning so much he couldn't tell the difference between the salt of his tears and the salt of the sea.

She was just lying there, her pruned, bruised, and swollen body soaked and cold from the environmental conditions. All the blood from her body had been washed away but many wounds were left open; red and taunting. Her ebony hair was stripped of its usual lustrous shine and it was sprawled across the ground, some it sticking to her face. Zane began to pant harshly, his mind going haywire at this site.

Why wasn't he thinking right?

What was happening to him!?

He needed to be doing something!

He ripped the top half of her suit off, the lace and soggy cotton giving way to the sheer force. Placing two hands on her chest, where her heart was, Zane began to push down, muttering, "One one-hundred, two one-hundred, three one-hundred, four one-hundred," repeatedly.

Chelsea lied lifelessly; her eyelids softly over her eyes as if she were Sleeping Beauty merely resting, waiting for her prince to kiss her awake.

So that's exactly what Zane did.

* * *

><p><em><strong><span>Nya<span> **_

She had never seen anything so beautiful.

Despite the pain, the horrid stinging sensation that burned her entire body, Nya could do nothing more than stare with substantial anodyne. The intensity of the power radiating off of the transformed boy had numbed her brain from her pain.

Her brother looked like a fiery angel sent, from God himself, to alleviate them of the pain they were suffering.

Kai was completely enveloped in the emerald's conflagrant light, his eyes glowing with a red that was not evil or frightening, but passionate and determined. He had completely changed. On his legs were baggy black pants, scrunching up near the ends of his ankles. A crimson coat covered his black turtle neck, the flaps near the ends opening wildly, blowing in the inferno heat that surrounded him. It was decorated with golden rims, symbols from the Japanese language reading, 'Fire' over the chest area. A black belt was wrapped firmly around his waist. A black shoulder and chest plate with red rims covered him, completing the set. In his hands he held a sword like none other. This one glimmered like no other jewel and burned with the fiery passion held in the Fire Ninja's heart.

Just beautiful.

"This ends now," Kai spoke, his voice burning with avidity. It rumbled within the depths of her chest, down her spine, and through the pits of her stomach.

The tentacle that once held him was now lying lifelessly in the water, singed.

Eltanse must've also felt the power this boy had gained from the emerald too because she frowned, finally showing emotion. She floated back, her hand pointing to the ninja. "Kill them," she ordered.

Nya screamed as the grip on her now feeble body tightened once again and the kraken roared with galore. It was waving all of them in the air and then bringing the ninja and samurai to its mouth for their end. Tears burned the dark-haired girl's eyes as saliva was sprayed onto her body, razor sharp teeth waiting to taste her blood. Trembling, she screamed the only thing that popped in her head.

"Kai!"

The next second Nya felt her body wrapped in a warm pair of arms. She felt weightless, warm, and safe. She wrapped her arms around a warm neck, burying her head into a similarly warm chest. It wasn't until the girl had dared herself to peek from her eye lids that she stared incredulously at the man that looked down at her with kind eyes. Her brother's eyes kept contact with her gaze all the way through, their compassion somehow making Nya's tears disappear.

Kai brought her down to the sand, where the rest of the group had been safely put, and set her into Jay's arms. Nya let go, totally in shock at the appearance of her brother. He put a hand on her bruised cheek and when she responded by placing it on top of his, Kai gave her a handsome smile before disappearing in a flash of light.

The scene before her was hard to keep up with because there were so many things going on. There were so many flashes of light and crimson flames decorating the sky, her verdant eyes were starting to burn from staring for so long, but she couldn't stop. Nya was left in awe as Kai boldly faced the octopus and then, in a blink of an eye, he was on the other side, sword held out behind him, hair unrestrainedly blowing in the wind.

The octopus gave one insanely loud shriek before it split in half, limbs dead, and its edges singed with unquenchable fire.

Black blood spilled everywhere and then evaporated.

Kai floated to the ground, cheers blasting in Nya's ears from behind. Green met amber and they both stared at each other. Soon his feet hit the sand, the emerald flying out beside him. He dimmed down, transitioning into his original battered clothes.

They smiled.

Then Kai fell forward.

Instantly, Nya fell with him, sitting on her numb legs, letting his head lie on her lap. The emerald that had gone within him lied carefully on his side, its glimmer reducing to an ordinary shine. The young woman gazed at the emerald before taking it and placing it on Kai's chest. She gently stroked the wet hair out of his eyes, her crystal tears falling onto his cheeks.

_I'm so proud of you._

"That was amazing," Lloyd muttered, limping over to the unconscious boy's side, tears trailing down his cheeks.

Nya laughed a watery one and bent down to kiss her brother's forehead.

"Absolutely amazing," she whispered.

* * *

><p><em><strong><span>Cole<span> **_

His heart completely melted at the scene.

Yeah, so maybe they weren't looking their sharpest and blood and tears were everywhere on them, but it was still the most heart-warming scene the Earth Ninja had ever seen in all his years.

What Kai had done and turned into was something Cole couldn't describe with words, but he would try when they would have to explain to Sensei Wu. There was just so much compassion, love, and bravery within his eyes, Cole couldn't look away. His strength and powers were even greater than when he had unlocked his true potential. So much more. It was so mind-boggling it was almost psychedelic. He looked like the very angel to protect the Garden of Eden. If he had ever run by that story, he would imagine Kai because he was just it.

Turning to the beat up Lightning Ninja, he gave the red-head a brazen grin, patting him on the back. Jay winced, but smiled whole-heartedly in return.

Everywhere was hurting him like a bitch, but he was just happy they were just all ali-

"Guys, Zane is giving Chelsea CPR!"

God damn it.

You know that feeling you get when you swore you put your phone in your back pocket when you got in the car but, when you checked, you couldn't find it?

Yeah, that was Cole right now.

Except a jillion times worse.

The last time he'd seen the two was right after his mind had gone blank from this hallucinatory fury that coursed in his veins. After the creature had been slaughtered, Cole had almost forgotten about the pair. There were just so many things going on that he just…well, forgot.

But now, everything came back with a startling slap to his face.

Nya and Jay stayed with Kai, but looked onward with dread as the other ninja ran (limped) towards the two that were by the seaside. Cole felt his chest tighten as he watched Zayn push onto the kunoichi's chest forcefully. Tears were leaking out of the nindroid's eyes, his breathing patterns rough and heavy. Cole's heart pounded painfully against his ribcage as he observed the White Ninja's frenzied state. When Zane was going haywire that meant there was something to worry about. That meant the probability of anything looking good was so low they might as well forget about it.

The ninja was crying for Pete's sake.

Zane _never _cries.

Cole crawled over, closer, to the girl, her body jerking up and down because of how hard Zane was pushing on her chest. His verdant murky eyes went back and forth on her face, his bottom lip trembling because she wasn't opening her eyes. Her eyes were still closed and her mouth was shut.

"Sh-she's not breathing," Zane murmured, chocking on his tears.

He kept pushing and pushing, biting his pale pink lips. Cole shook his head in denial. He was on his hands and knees, his chest tightening so painfully, he didn't know if he could still breathe. In his right ear he heard Lloyd's broken sobs, begging for her to wake up, and in the left, Zane's whimpers, but he couldn't hear anything in his head. Everything was just so blank and watery and…and-

Zane bent down and connected their lips together, blowing air into her lungs. He then continued on with the CPR.

Was it bad that Cole wanted to push the Polish nindroid off of her and do the exact same thing himself?

Maybe this was what losing control felt like.

He did it again.

And again. And again.

It was to save her life.

Then why the hell was he getting angry about it?

Of all the times, he had to feel jealous _now_?

"Wake up. Wake up!" Zane sternly commanded, frustration creasing his forehead.

"Pl-plea-ease d-don't do th-this," the young blonde cried.

He was pushing so hard on her chest. Zane had ripped off the top half of her ninja suit, exposing her black undergarments. It was to get the pumps directly to her chest, to save her life. The whole thing was about to fall off her body anyways. There were tears, from the bottom, reaching up to her waist and the lace covering her arms had almost worn off. One of her boots had been lost some time ago and the one that still remained had smudges of dirt covering the dull material.

So much for durability.

Cole grabbed her hand ignoring the fact that it was so cold. His face twitched, trying to hold in the cries that were sent from the depths of his chest. He bowed his head, placing his forehead on her hand, his nose meeting the wet hard sand beneath him. He started to mutter pleas, praying to God—if God still remembered him—to help her, to bring her back because, somehow, he knew it wasn't her time to go yet.

It just wasn't.

It couldn't be because they had just gotten her. The team was prophesized to battle against the wicked woman so that meant she had to be alive. It just had to. And even if that weren't to come true, this wasn't right. It wasn't fair. Chelsea didn't deserve to die so soon. She just started her journey. She had just begun to start her fight for this world and it had repaid her like this. How was that fair? This couldn't be destiny. Her destiny had greater things in store for her, not this. It wasn't to die after one fight. It wasn't to give up her life and die at such a young age. It wasn't to leave them. It just wasn't!

Nonononononononononono-

She coughed.

His head snapped up to see the dark-skinned woman cough hoarsely, her mouth shaping into an 'O', regurgitating the water from the sea. Chelsea was gasping rapidly and deeply, chocking on the water left in her lungs. Zane immediately sat her up, holding her trembling body over his hand, patting her back as she continued to vomit out the fluids. Cole squeezed her hand as she faintly clutched his, her other free hand desperately gripping Zane's soaked gi for support.

When she had finally ceased her coughing fit her breathes became shaky again. Her wide eyes were petrified as she looked around, the life sucked dry out of her skin. She started to hyperventilate bringing her hands to her chest. Cole felt himself break as he watched her shiver and tremble, the realization of coming close to permanent death hitting her like a bullet train. He wanted to reach out and hold her, tell her everything was going to be okay.

But Zane beat him to it.

Holding her cheeks, the nindroid forced her to look straight into his pale eyes.

"You are okay," his jaw tensed, "You are alive."

There was tight silence before Chelsea nodded, burying her head into his chest, and letting the loudest sob Cole had ever heard tear through her throat.

* * *

><p><span><em><strong>Aboard the Bounty<strong>_

To say they were tense would be an understatement.

Of course the ninja and samurai were grateful to be alive, but after a day like that, their minds were a bit…muddled.

Sensei Wu watched his students, lie around like lost souls, with guilt and worry. When he had finally gotten back to Treasure Cove Beach, he was utterly horrified to find the ninja severely beaten and bruised. He hadn't even paid mind to the crimson emerald they had found. Instead, he quickly gathered them on board, helping the ones that couldn't really walk over the sides of the ship, if they needed it. Right away, he helped them tend to their wounds. Zane, Cole and Nya also helped with bandaging everyone else because their own injuries weren't that severe compared to the others. There were cuts and soreness here and there, but nothing they hadn't suffered through before.

Lloyd had a nursed a sprain his right ankle and a minor concussion. With a few bandages to his head and tight dressings around his ankle, he was good to go. But the trauma of what had transpired hours ago was still left to torture his young mind. His tremors and tenseness proved so. Chelsea had taken a bit of a beating. Her injuries were more brutal and harder to tend to. After a painful examination by the Ice Ninja, he stated that she had severely bruised two ribs and her knee cap had been popped out of place in addition to the bridge of her nose having been deeply bruised. There wasn't much they could do about her ribs and nose, only time could heal it, but Zane said he had to pop her knee cap in place. Luckily, the kunoichi was asleep but when he had popped the bone back into its socket, the ninja's eyes snapped open and a startled scream left her mouth. It was more out of surprise than pain, but she was left with the after affects of it. Jay's pelvic bone was badly bruised and the slightest movement caused him a lot of pain, so he was forced to just lie there and let time heal his wounds. In addition, his elbow had been completely shattered and he too suffered from a concussion. Kai was the worst of all of them. In all his years, Sensei Wu had never seen such a young boy so mercilessly drowned in agonizing pain. Even in unconsciousness, it was easy to hear the pain that doused through his labored pants. The Fire Ninja's ribs were broken, his left ankle had a minor fracture in it and his right wrist had also gained a fracture. He had cuts and bruises everywhere and his bottom lip was swollen purple.

After everyone had been helped, Sensei Wu had announced he was going to retire early and that he would ask about this day when he felt they had enough energy and time to heal. He also told them that they would do nothing but rest for awhile and it was dire that the ninja and samurai heal before even thinking about venturing out for the next emerald. Without another word, the old teacher slipped out of the sick bay and retreated sorrowfully to his room.

The sick bay was quiet for a bit. The team sunk in their thoughts (or dreams) about whatever laid on their mind. The ones awake couldn't bear to look at each other for some of their injuries reminded them of their fall towards permanent death. The ones asleep only added to their turmoil as their labored breathes resonated slickly through the still air.

"Well this sucks," Jay huffed, forehead creasing with irritation. The loss of virtually all of his mobility had already taken its toll on the Blue Ninja. Why was it that when the most simple, every-day, things were taken away you only realize how much of a necessity they actually were?

The team leader, who lied on a mattress on the floor, sighed irritably. "We're lucky to be alive, Jay."

Jay snorted grimly. "Yeah, well what's the point if we're all gonna die soon anyways? We're basically useless now. It's gonna take weeks before all of us are even able to walk! By then, Eltanse would've found the rest emeralds and we will have to live with the fact that we got our asses handed to us on the first round." If he could, he would've tinkered with a machine or something to blow off steam. But since he couldn't even move, the Lightning Ninja had settled for cursing, something he only did when he found no other way to release his anger.

Cole scowled at his words. He wasn't really up for putting up with the quick-tongued red-head at the moment, his own grouchy attitude rubbing him the wrong way. Being able to move, he propped himself on his elbows and snapped, "I really don't feel like dealing with you right now so would you do me a favor and shut your mouth for once in your life!"

"Can you guys please-" Nya started but was cut off.

"Don't tell me to shut up you girl-stealing-hunk-of-rock! You're not the one with a bruised pelvis!"

"Wha—do you want it broken, cus' I'd gladly do it for you!?"

"If I could move I would shove my foot so far up your-"

"Jay, Cole, shut up! Both of you!" Nya exclaimed, sitting up and glaring at the two ninja who glared knives at each other. "You two are acting like spoiled five-year-olds. We just came back, barely alive, and you two would rather fight over nothing? That is not what friends do!"

Grumbling irritably, the two gave one last glare at the other before Cole lied back down and Jay turned his head away. Nya sighed heavily before lying back down on her mattress placed in the bay, contemplating whether or not she really wanted to stay here for the night. Zane, Cole, and Nya decided they wanted to sleep here with the others, until they could move them to their rooms, to keep them company. But, already, the ninja's dour moods were clashing. The young samurai rolled over and buried her face into the crease of her arm. It was barely six and she felt like the wee hours of the night had already passed.

Not too far away from the brooding girl were the White and Green Ninja. Zane sat by Lloyd, holding an ice pack to the boy's ankle and making sure it was properly elevated and his head was comfortably resting on the pillow. The nindroid really hated it when his brothers fought but chose to keep quiet due to the fact the he himself feared that he would say something he'd regret in the future. The recent events had taken a bit of a toll on the usually calm ninja. Just looking at his teammates so beat up and hurt tortured the Ice Ninja's heart and he had to try really hard to hold back the burning tears and agonizing sorrow from showing on his face.

Zane was their go-to guy for stability and foundation. Although Cole was the team leader, he was human. More things could get to the Black Ninja. Zane had been programmed to access the situation before letting emotions throw him over. He was proud to be a nindroid and to let his brothers have the reassurance that he would always be the one to have his head resting securely on his shoulders.

But, as of now, he wasn't feeling so sturdy.

But he had to keep up the charade. Anything for his family.

Zane's thoughts were interrupted as Lloyd's whimpers pierced through his thinking cloud. His pale irises darted over the boy's face to see it scrunched up in fear and sadness. His artificial eyes glowed in understanding but he still asked, "What is wrong Lloyd? Does your head hurt?"

Unable to contain the tears that drenched his eyes, the blonde teen desperately tried to wipe the tears away. "How are we supposed to be beat Eltanse? I-it just seems impossible and I know that we haven't been through much with her but…but that's just it. One real battle and we're half dead," he sniffed choking back a sob.

Taking his finger, Zane gently moved away strands of hair from the boy's forehead. He blinked, unable to recognize why he had just done the affectionate gesture but smiled comfortably. "We cannot give up hope. Even when we fear all hope is lost, we must continue to fight for the good. Ninja never quit."

Even though they were words of encouragement, Lloyd couldn't find anything comforting. He only let out a heavy breath, turning his head away in denial. His verdant eyes narrowed, feeling so heavy with tears. Lloyd felt his bottom lip tremble.

"Easy for you to say. You have way more courage than I could ever have. I-I'm the Green Ninja, prosecutor of the Overlord and Lord Garmadon and here I am, crying because…because this is just too much for me!" he confessed, gritting his teeth. His sobs were getting harder to keep in but he still tried with whatever dignity he had left.

But Lloyd was so disappointed in himself. He was terrified out of his wits. He was a ninja for crying out loud! Ninja weren't frightened by the abnormal. At least they weren't supposed to be. He guessed he was an exception because even when he was told that he was supposed to go against his father, he was downright terrified. Now that didn't seem too bad compared to this. The ninja had to go up against something that was quite literally from hell. To say he was scared was an understatement in itself. How could he call himself the prophesized ninja when he always started crying when he was scared? That just didn't make sense.

Who would want to be protected by someone that cried every damn day?

The room went silent once again from the boy's confession. Sorrow edged its way up the older ninja and samurai's hearts, but they could say nothing. As of now, it was almost impossible to say any genuine words of encouragement. For it to be true they would have to believe it themselves and they too weren't sure if they trusted their own bravery and words right now.

"D-Don't worry Lloyd," Chelsea croaked.

Instantly, heads turned to the kunoichi. They watched as she rubbed her eyes and flinched as she touched the bridge of her nose. A yawn escaped her lips and she moaned in pain.

"Don't yawn when your ribs are bruised," she whispered in a raspy, painful voice.

"Ch-Chelsea!?" Lloyd said in reflex. He turned his head to look at her, feeling his cheeks burn at the sudden realization that everyone saw him crying. He scowled at himself, furiously rubbing his eyes. "I'm sorry for being such a cry-baby. I'm sor-"

"Don't apologies for crying. If I wasn't so tired, I'm sure you'd be surprised how much of water I have in my body," she lowly joked. Though, she couldn't tell if she was joking or not. It was too early, (in her mind), to tell. Her eyes were closed as she titled her head back on the pillow, sighing heavily. "But don't worry about Eltanse. We'll beat her."

The Green Ninja propped himself on his elbows. His brows furrowed in confusion, head shaking. "How are you so sure!? A-aren't you the least bit scared!?" he shouted, unable to understand how the other could be so calm.

"Lloyd, you need to calm down. You're head," Nya reminded.

He ignored the plea. "Chelsea, you almost-_no , you died. _You weren't breathing. You were smashed face first into the side of a cave, twice. You haven't been a ninja for two months and you've almost really died. It doesn't even seem like it bothers you!" Lloyd let more tears fall over his cheeks. "I-I don't understand! I just don't!" He buried his face into his hands, trembling from the pounding against this skull, from keeping in his sobs.

Chelsea's eyes opened from the profession. Her eyes traveled over to the green-clad teen, chocolate irises drowned in empathy. "Lloyd?" she softly called out. "Can I tell you something?"

Slowly, watery verdant eyes revealed themselves to warm brown ones.

"I'm terrified. Everything that's happened so far has been so overwhelming. It's kind of hard to believe just a month ago, I was studying for my sociology test," she smiled tiredly. "But honestly, I wouldn't want to be anywhere else than here, ribs messed up and everything."

Lloyd's eyes widened and his mouth opened to say something, but nothing came out.

Chelsea faced the ceiling, swallowing to moisten her throat. "Yeah, I feel like my chest is going to explode from fear and I hadn't realized how much pain I'd face when I agreed to be a ninja, but y'know what? If it's for the good in this world, I'd give my life any day. I can't believe I just said that, but I wouldn't say it to you if it weren't true. When I was smashed against the cave wall, I realized three things.

"One: I'm now terrified of octopi. Two: Eltanse is a real bitch for doing that," she muttered earning a few short chuckles, "And three: The more frightened you are, the more courageous you are for standing up to the thing causing the fear." Chelsea looked at the boy once again. "Lloyd, you are the bravest person I have ever met in my entire life. You're what? Fifteen? And you're fighting against giant ugly octopi to save people you don't even know. At fifteen I saw a spider the size of my pinkie toe in my room and fainted."

The kunoichi stared at verdant irises with a straight face before feeling her bottom lip tremble. When she heard laughter burst out from behind her, Chelsea couldn't help but let out laughs of her own. Her eyes squinted in both pain and humor. Lloyd couldn't help but join in, letting his fear and anger slip from his mind for a moment. The room's tension had been cut in half with the laughter from the beaten warriors.

"You really fainted from a tiny spider?" Jay howled, holding his stomach.

Chelsea tried to act attacked but couldn't hold back the smiled threatening to split her face in half. "H-hey! I have severe arachnophobia!"

"It's just a spider," Cole snickered.

"Those things are creepy."

"Wimp," Kai said, gaining surprised glances.

"Kai, you're awake!" Nya exclaimed happily.

The Grey Ninja gave the fiery man a playfully dirty look, pursing her lips. Kai met her glare and gave a cheeky smile, wincing at the pain coursing through his body. "Yeah, who gave you permission to wake up because I sure as hell didn't?" Chelsea stuck her tongue out.

The Red Ninja only gave her an egotistical grin. "What? I saved your life. Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Nope."

Jay coughed in his fist dramatically. "Actually, I believe Zane was the one who gave her CPR. As far as I'm concerned, you were passed out on the sand," he teased.

Kai's head snapped over to Jay and gave him a playful glare. "If I didn't cut that octopus in half, Zane wouldn't have even been able to-" he paused. A sudden mischievous smirk fell on his bruised lips as he gave the innocent nindroid a devilish gander. "Was it mouth-to-mouth?" he asked.

Zane blinked in confusion but answered. "Yes, but I don't understand why-"

Kai whistled. "Zane, who knew you had it in ya!? I didn't know you moved so fast! And look, he looks so innocent. So how was it? Details, _please_."

In horror, Chelsea gaped. Anger ripped through her and she shouted, "Excuse me!?"

While the kunoichi threw insults and lectures at the spiky-haired man, all he did in return was give a taunting smirk, his amber eyes resting on the really confused nindroid. Zane didn't really have the energy to try and figure out the underlying messages of the Fire Ninja's words so he answered honestly. "Well, it is just a matter of attaching the lips together and-"

"How'd they taste?" he probed.

Lloyd gave a sigh. "Really Kai?"

"He saved my life and you wanna make jokes!?" Chelsea exclaimed. As Kai and Jay laughed, Kai completely ignoring the stinging pain in his abdomen, searing anger ran through the Grey Ninja's veins. She forgot about her ribs and swollen knee and went to move herself up but when the overwhelming sensation of being stabbed…well, stabbed her, she fell back down dropping the f-bomb, loudly. This only caused the fire and lightning wielders to howl in laughter. Nya sheepishly smiled as she tried to calm the dark-skinned woman down.

"It-" the Ice Ninja started.

"Zane, _do not_ answer that," Cole growled irritably. His eyes glowed with contained rage, which the nindroid also couldn't understand as to why, but kept quiet as the muscular man lectured him about when and when not to answer certain questions.

While the bickering went on, it had become unknown to them that the fright that had once lived in their heart had completely dissipated. The tragic memories of their past battle fleeted their minds, allowing peace to settle in its place. Even if it was for a moment, they took this moment to act their age and taunt with one another like old friends. It was truly relieving no matter how small it seemed.

As they continued on, going at each other's throats, verbally, the room began to brighten unexpectedly. Unbeknownst to them, the emeralds that had been placed on a table in the corner glimmered with light. Patient rivers of light red and grey flowed from the gems, swirling to make a white light, and traveled towards the ninja and samurai. It wrapped around them, gently, like a mother's warm embrace.

Lloyd had been the first one to notice how the room had suddenly turned into a sun room. He blinked. "Guys?" he called out, catching their attention. He looked down at himself to see light wrap around his ankle, traveling up his body, to his head.

At the sight, the others quickly looked down at themselves to see the same thing happening. Jay gave a startled cry. "W-what's happening?"

Nya stared in awe, feeling power course through her once aching body. The pain was fleeting and she was beginning to feel stronger. "It's the emeralds," she breathed, astounded.

Soon enough, each person in the room had been wrapped in an embryo of light, freezing as its embrace soothed their aching bodies. In a matter of seconds, it slowly started to unravel and quietly glide its way back to the emeralds. The light split into two and back into the gems. Then, the emeralds dimmed down to their original colors.

No one moved for the longest time. There was no telling what exactly the Emeralds of Dualism had done to them. But they had to find out soon enough.

Jay frowned in wonder. He looked down at the arm in the cast and moved it a bit. His eyes widened. Nothing. He felt no pain. Carefully, to test the waters, he took off the sling and straightened out his joint. The team watched in amazement as Jay continued to bend and straightened his elbow, not even a wince of pain on his expression. The Blue Ninja took it a step further and leaned his weight on his arms to prop himself up. A joyous laugh left his lips as he was able to sit up and move his legs to the edge of the cot. Leaping off the side, he balanced on his feet and straightened up. His green eyes looked up in pure excitement and he spun around goofily.

"I can walk!" he exclaimed in disbelief, "I can walk!"

From the declaration the others wasted no time in trying out their mobility. In authentic disbelief and amazement they were able to move without pain. No one, no matter how small or large the injuries were before, felt the least bit damaged. Lloyd jumped from foot-to-foot, as if playing hopscotch. He laughed, no longer feeling the headache pounding in his head. Chelsea twirled on the leg that once supported the bruised kneecap and did some stretches. She smiled widely at the fact that it no longer hurt to laugh. Cole asked Zane to slap his back, waiting for the sting of a thousand needles to break out on his tender flesh, but when he only felt the minor sting of the nindroid's hand, he broke out in a large grin, flexing his muscles. Zane also reported that his systems felt recharged and he mentally noted how his chest felt a lot looser, but it wasn't the emeralds' doing. It was just the happiness evident on his family's faces. Nya patted her sides and legs, stretching and feeling nothing but relief. Her verdant eyes peered over to her brother and delectation radiated in her heart as he executed some fighting moves and spun around turning into the infamous twister of fire, Spinjitzu.

"This is awesome!" he shouted, no longer feeling his swollen lips.

"We're back in the game," Jay laughed, giving Cole a mighty high-five.

Zane took the bandages off of his forearm. "It appears these emeralds hold much more power than we could have ever thought."

Chelsea took the emeralds, throwing the red one to Kai. She held it out and gave the beautiful jewel an imperial stare. Her brown eyes looked over to the fiery ninja. "Correct me if I'm wrong, but I have a feeling these emeralds helped you with defeating the octopus."

Kai caught the jewel and smirked. "You're right. I can't explain it but this emerald empowered me with power I've never felt before. It was like I reached my full potential but…more. It's like I surpassed the power of my full potential by a landslide. I don't remember how I activated its power but it somehow gave me a capability like none other. I just felt so much rage and helplessness and it just…it was like it accepted me as its wielder and helped me defeat the creature," he explained.

Nya placed a hand on his shoulder. They smiled at each other and the dark-haired woman nodded in agreement. "It was amazing, really. All his wounds went away and you could feel the power and passion radiating off of him. He turned into something like…like a fiery angel. And just like that," she snapped her fingers, "the octopus was dead."

"I've never seen anything like it," Lloyd added with a proud grin.

"We need to learn about these emeralds, and train as much as we can with them. Even though we only have two, if we manage to tap into these things, we'll actually have a chance against Eltanse," Cole said in determination.

"We've always had a chance. We just needed to be reminded of it," Zane smiled walking up and standing next to the Grey Kunoichi.

"I couldn't have said it any better Zane," a wise voice said.

The team looked to see their sensei walk in with a smile, his small eyes glimmering with awe. "Sensei Wu," they said, bowing in respect. The old teacher nodded his head in recognition. He was blatantly surprised to see his students up in running when just an a couple hours ago, they could barely walk. He had come to check on them and was grateful to see this no matter how thrown off he was.

"It seems that Kai has locked into the power of his emerald. Even if I, myself, do not fully understand their capabilities, I know we have only scraped the surface of their power. This is where our journey truly begins, my students," he said. The ninja nodded with new profound determination. "We will train to become more familiar with them as we go on. We start tomorrow morning, bright and early. Off to bed, students."

They groaned. Jay gave a whine. "B-but it's only seven-"

"Off to bed!" Sensei Wu chirped and, obediently, they went off. The older Spinjitzu master stared off and smiled, shaking his head.

He was very lucky to have such students.

(0…)

Lloyd waited impatiently to use the bathroom. Cole had been in there for thirty minutes now, claiming he needed to take his time and scrub the dirt off his body. Despite protests, the blonde teen could do nothing but wait and grumble to himself.

Passing by, Chelsea stumbled to her and Nya's bedroom, in her large pajamas. She rubbed her eyes in sleepiness but was suddenly stopped by the Green Ninja. Lloyd tapped her arm and she turned her attention on him.

"Oh, hi, Lloyd. What's up?"

The boy gave the kunoichi a grateful smile even though he felt his cheeks burn from the sudden realization that he was half-naked. "I-I just wanted to thank you for…for cheering me up today," he stuttered. He then let his green eyes gaze back at warm brown in wonder. "Do you really believe I'm the bravest person you've ever met? Or were you just saying that?"

His cheeks reddened even more as she laughed tiredly. He was even more surprised as she embraced him. "I wouldn't have said it if I didn't mean it." Chelsea pulled away and gave him a smile. "I'm going to get to bed now. I can't believe we have to get up at six. What is this, high school?" she mumbled, shaking her head.

Lloyd could only give her a sheepish smile in response, scratching the back of his head, but reassurance and courage rose in his person. "You get used to it," he chuckled, "Goodnight Chelsea."

"Goodnight Lloyd."

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><p><em><strong>AN: It's really late right now so I'm going to make this quick. **_

_**I honestly believe Lloyd is one strong cookie. Putting aside all the time changes to his age, he's somewhere between 10 and 11 and just look at everything he's doing. Let's be real for a moment. I doubt any of us would ever go through what he's been through and come out sane. Once again, I applaud Lloyd. What are your thoughts on him?**_

_**ATTENTION: Kai DOES NOT like Chelsea like that. (That'd be really annoying if I made every guy go after her. I wouldn't be able to continue with the story lol) The interaction between them kinda looks like I-wanna-do-dirty-things-to-you flirting but it's like casual-just-friends flirting! I feel like Kai likes to tease people for their own sanity. They just went through a whole lotta shit and he always seemed like the type of person to make someone angry/upset to distract them from the tough stuff. Also, whiles I'm on this note, I would just like to say, for future reference, that just because a person thinks another person is attractive doesn't mean they are in love with them. That is a BIG no-no. I could walk outside and think five guys are attractive but not once would it cross my mind that I'd want to spend the rest of my life with them. That just doesn't make sense to me so love at first sight WILL NOT happen in my story.**_

_**And about Kai's transformation...imagine what you want but, just so we're clear, he doesn't have wings. I just compared him to an angel because it just fit. I personally thought Kai was pretty badass, but that's just me. I cant wait to write more about the emeralds. They make me really excited. But I do have a hate/love relationship when it comes to harming the characters. But I do not harm characters unless it's for the plot of the story. Unnecessary harm is just annoying.**_

_**That's it and I hope you enjoyed! You guys rock!**_


	5. Chapter 5

**LighteningDanino: Haha XD Same! Thank you. I really tried on Kai's transformation haha. And I am keeping my lips sealed...XD**

**ShadowCinder: Jeez, great analysis. And I looked over Lloyd's part and yeah a bit of it was exaggerated but I'll get it down pat someday XD Thank you so much!**

_**Thank you so much for the reviews. They mean a lot. Keep 'em coming!**_

**Disclaimer: All Ninjago characters belong to Lego. All OCs and concepts belong to me.**

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><p><em>"<em>_All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveler is unaware.__"_

_—__Martin Buber_

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><p>Chapter 5<p>

**_? ? ?_**

In a world where the moon took the sun's place inhabited only those who could not bear light. It was a place where the only color that ever existed was black. Here, light didn't dare step a foot in the Godforsaken place for it was afraid even the slightest touch would corrupt all its good.

Taking slow and graceful steps, the dark deity made her way to her throne. Somehow, her ebony attire was darker than her surroundings. It was such a deep contrast to her pale skin that she appeared to be the only light source in this dark world. Though light, there was still something sick and eidolic about it. Her eerie footsteps, which sounded like tiny pins tapping against glass, made the Shadow Soldiers surrounding her bow as she passed by. As soon as she reached her throne, she delicately sat herself on the royal black chair, her straight back pushing against the dark crimson cushion. It was such a gentle motion; it seemed out of place coming from the cadaverous queen.

Shifting out of the shadows, a dark figure solidified. In a matter of seconds the figure stood tall and strong by the Shadow Queen, his black shiny sword glinting from her white skin. He looked nothing like the Shadow Soldiers, but he was their leader—under the queen. He was human…or as human as a shadow could be. Bearing grey smooth pale flesh, the man was dressed in a black tuxedo, black dress shoes, and a grey tie. On top of his head was thick, tidy, black coffered hair. His eyes were a startling red, piercing through the darkness. He was appeared young and handsome, supporting a lean but strong build, a chiseled jaw and beautifully haunting eyes.

"I am glad you have returned safely my queen," he stated with a stoic and deep voice.

Eltanse only crossed her legs, gazing with boredom at the ball of her staff. "I am glad you didn't interfere. I thought I told you not to come along?" she said with lightness.

The man only blinked, his crimson irises staying on the abundant amount of soldiers amongst them. "I had to ensure your safety," he said. He had ended on a trailing tone causing Eltanse's ruby lips to spread subtly.

"You have a question," she confirmed.

"Forgive me for I do not mean to question your actions, but I do not understand why you didn't kill the ninja. After the red one collapsed, it would've been easy to wipe them out then."

Eltanse let a short chuckle leave her lips, fangs glinting in an amused smile. "Oh Jasper, sometimes you still act as old as you look," she placed her sharp chin in her hand, "I do not want to kill the ninja right away. They will find the emeralds easier than we would."

Understanding glimmered in his eyes and Jasper bowed his head. "Forgive my ignorance-"

"You had a question. There isn't anything ignorant about questions. I am not that wicked," she grinned maliciously.

Jasper nodded. "Then I have another one. How will we get the emeralds if we do not plan to kill any the ninja? As they collect the emeralds they get stronger and closer to unlocking its full power. With all of them combined, I fear we will stand no chance and will possibly be wiped out," he explained, this time, letting his crimson irises lie on her relaxed figure.

"When I have all those emeralds, and able to turn you fully human, I know you will make a fabulous husband Jasper. You worry a lot which is not always a bad thing," Eltanse smirked. She twirled her staff, the crystal ball glowing subtly. "The Emeralds of Dualism are very powerful gems. Those arrogant children do not understand the incomprehensible power of which they posses. The power the red one used was simply a fraction of its full potential. It will take years before they are fully able to tap into their power but unfortunately for them, they do not have that kind of time."

"So what do we do?"

Images and movies of the Red Ninja's transformation and battle with the morphed octopus glowed within the tiny white ball. "We study them. In order to deceive them, we need to understand them first. So for now, as we try and 'steal' the emeralds, we patiently wait for them to hand them to us."

Jasper raised a shaped brow. "I still do not understand."

Eltanse grinned wickedly, her greenish-yellow eyes glowing murderously. Her deep, low, chuckle rumbled through the shadows of the palace. "All in due time Jasper. All in due time."

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><p><span><strong><em>Chelsea: Training—7:15 a.m.<em>**

This was bound to be embarrassing.

If it weren't for the sheer will power coursing through her veins, Chelsea was sure her stomach's tremors would've reduced her to a pathetic puddle of doubt.

After stretches came training and the Grey Ninja hadn't realized fully realized that she would be training in front of highly skilled ninja. Yeah, the first time around was training but she was just showing them what she knew and working on archery which none of them knew much about. They were all in the same boat, but now things were different. All of a sudden, the group separated into groups of two for hand-to-hand combat (which she sucked at, might I add) for warm-up. Cole was partnered up with Lloyd, Zane with Jay, leaving Chelsea with Kai.

She honestly wished she had gotten Lloyd or Zane.

When the fiery ninja took a fighting stance, giving the nervous woman a smug look, Chelsea felt her cheeks warm up in embarrassment and nervousness. "Just come at me. I won't get mad at you. I'll even go easy on you so I don't mess up your hair," he teased.

Chelsea mentally cursed because at that very moment, for some reason, she blanked out. Nothing was there. She had forgotten everything she's ever learned. She didn't really know if it was just because she was suddenly put on the spot or if it was just Kai's taunting demeanor, but the Shadow Ninja felt the butterflies in her stomach turn into rabid hornets. As much as she would've loved to just back out or at tell the Fire Ninja to go easy on her that would only attract attention from the other ninja sparring. And that would only result in more embarrassment.

Nursing her weeping ego, that was sure to be severely bruised by the end of this, Chelsea sighed heavily and put on a mask of effrontery. "I don't take sexism very well, shorty," she retorted, teasing the average-sized man of his height. She was happy to see Kai bristle over the comment. In truth, Kai wasn't short, Chelsea was just tall. She just found that it was a touchy subject for him for some reason; they were the same height anyway so she didn't understand but it's whatever.

"Alright, enough chit-chat princess," he stuck his arms in defense. "Try to hit my stomach," he said.

Chelsea grounded herself and nodded obediently. Pushing away her disquietude, she stuck her arms up and the two started to circle each other. As the kunoichi stepped her right foot over her left, Kai mirrored her movements oppositely. Soon enough, Chelsea built up enough courage to move forward, silently praying she wouldn't trip over her own feet. Pulling back her fist, she aimed for an open spot on Kai's healed ribs.

The ninja had seen this coming from a mile away and blocked her punch instantly. He noted how the attack wasn't forceful at all. He barely felt her fist punch his forearm. Chelsea grunted from the contact and then moved her other arm back to hit him. Kai easily blocked it and saw her abdomen was left exposed. Quickly, he went to kick her side (not too hard of course) but was surprised to see that she leapt back, forcefully throwing both their arms down. The tip of his foot did graze the top side of her thigh, but other than that, he hadn't been able to land a blow.

Again, the two steadied themselves and raised their arms in defense. Amber eyes flickered, silently signing for the owner of the warm brown irises to make the move. Taking the invitation, Chelsea, again, charged forward. This time, she abruptly paused, acting as if she would kick with her left foot, then spun halfway and attacking with a good back kick. Kai ducked under the kick before spinning around and grabbing her ankle. He smirked as Chelsea froze, minor horror dripping off her expression. Swiftly, the spiky-haired man yanked her leg forward causing the dark-skinned woman to yelp in pain as she landed with a hard thud on her back.

Kai couldn't hold back the satisfied smirk growing on his coral lips as he observed her rub her head in pain.

"Well that freaking hurt," Chelsea muttered, wincing as she passed over a sore spot on the back of her head. She looked up to see Kai stick his hand out. She gladly took it, grimacing at the soreness shooting through her back.

"You alright? That was a pretty hard fall. I don't want you too banged up," he cheekily smiled.

Chelsea gave him a look before rolling her eyes. "Yeah, I'm okay. Thanks for asking. You're too kind," she sarcastically said. She grinned, letting a chuckle roll past her lips. Chelsea let herself envision her fall moments ago and couldn't help but laugh. She was pretty surprised the Fire Ninja wasn't laughing right now because she knew if she saw someone fall like she did she would be on the ground. But then again, she was mean so…

"So how'd I do?" she asked preparing herself for the certainly horrid answer.

Kai shrugged. "Not too bad. You just need to realize your time. When I caught your foot I gave you more than enough time to do something to get out of that position, but you froze. You can't freeze up no matter how scary the situation. You have to be alert at all times."

Chelsea nodded and gave him a thank you. Kai nodded but then said, "Also, I wanna see something." He put his gloved hands up. "I want you to just keep punching my hands, okay?"

Obediently, the girl-ninja lifted her fists and jabbed at the hands in front of her. At first, her hits were light and hesitant, to Kai's displeasure. He scowled and looked at her tentative expression. "Harder! Don't worry about if it hurts me. Just punch with all you've got," he encouraged. Just as he expected, he saw her gulp, her eyes glimmering in uncertainty before nodding firmly. Chelsea gritted her teeth and punched harder, pulling her fists back and jabbing with more force.

Kai started to move back, testing her durability and mobility. He then dropped one hand, shouting, "Left!" Chelsea punched with her left fist, aiming for his right hand. "Right!" She did the same except with her opposite hand.

"Now block my punches and try to land one on me and this time, don't hold back," he hurriedly said before unexpectedly dropping his hand and dodging a fist. Kai then began jabbing at her and Chelsea repeatedly blocked them with her forearms, sometimes dodging them completely.

"No, don't avoid. If you can't block, then you'll have to take the hit," he scolded.

His punches were now flying at her and Chelsea was having a hard time blocking them. She was nicked on her jaw a few times but because of the adrenaline rush, she was able to bounce back, swinging her own fists when she could. Kai advanced on her, making the Grey Kunoichi step back, punching and blocking. Chelsea was starting to run out of breathe and she was silently wondering when this sparring match would be over.

"Stop concentrating on where you'll hit me and focus more on how hard you hit."

A hand came flying out of nowhere and hit her stomach, knocking the wind out of her. She really hadn't expected the ninja to actually hurt her so it came as a huge shock. Her eyes widened and she immediately felt offended. Chelsea didn't know where this sudden anger came from but it had attacked her system and caused her eyes to light aflame. Pulling her fist back, she delivered an uppercut and strongly landed it on the bottom of Kai's jaw making him stumble back in surprise.

Finally, the session was over and the two stood in their spots. Chelsea held her aching stomach, panting, sweat dripping off her temples. Kai just stared at the exhausted woman with a surprised smile, rubbing where her fist had connected to his face.

"Good job, Chels! That was the hardest punch you've ever landed on me. See, if you just attack without holding back, you're golden," he cheered. Kai walked over to the ninja and put a supporting hand on her back.

The new ninja tried to give him a smile but was too winded. "D-did I hurt you too bad?" she wheezed.

Kai laughed and helped her straighten up. "You're good. Did I hurt _you_ too bad?" he countered.

Catching her breath and feeling the dull pain fade away, Chelsea shook her head. She thanked him softly before gaining a fierce look in her eyes. She shoved Kai's shoulders back and gave him a playfully dirty glare. "That was for punching me in the gut. Dude, don't you know I have stomach problems!?"

"Aww my poor baby. Do you need daddy to kiss it better?" Chelsea gave him a disgusted grunt as he made obnoxious kissy faces and noises. But in all good humor, the two laughed it off.

Chelsea shook her head and stretched out her back. She was thankful she had her hair up in a bun because she knew she wouldn't be too comfortable with the ebony strands sticking on her sweaty neck. At least the wind was helping to keep her cool. Playing with the fake pearl earring in her left earlobe she turned to Kai. "What now?"

The brunette placed his hands on his hips, a thoughtful expression on his face. "Hey, why don't we work on your Spinjitzu?" he stepped back, "Show me what you've got."

Kai was thoroughly surprised to see the Grey Ninja nervously play with the hem of her t-shirt. Chelsea's lips were pushed to one side and she gave him a sheepish look. "You haven't learned Spinjitzu yet?"

"Nope."

He sighed. "You've got a lot of learning to do." Chelsea rolled her eyes but said nothing. "Did sensei tell you anything about it?"

"Yeah. He said something about how I would have to find it within myself to actually execute it. Y'know how he is, the mysterious guy. But that's all I remember because while he was talking, there was a really nice sandwich behind him and I was hungry and things just weren't processing," she admitted nonchalantly.

Even though he was slightly annoyed at the confession, Kai couldn't find it in himself to scold her for the oddly idiotic behavior. Instead, he shook his head and gave a short chuckle. The red ninja ran his fingers through his messy hair. "Nice."

"I try."

"I don't think I can teach you by myself because it just comes naturally now." Kai shrugged and turned to the others sparring. "Hey guys! I need your help," he shouted. Almost immediately, the other pairs stopped what they were doing. Lloyd stopped in mid air, dropping to the ground while Jay was hit in the face by Zane's foot. The blue ninja groaned but shook it off as he followed the others to where Kai and Chelsea were.

Chelsea could've strangled Kai if she still didn't feel too winded from that punch. She was not one for attention. She really didn't appreciate the fact that he called over everyone to watch as she tried to perform a move she had yet to perfect. Of course she had practiced herself during the month before, but she couldn't quite get it so she just ignored it for a bit. But now, Kai had just set her up for more embarrassment. Chelsea knew she would not get the move right and would fall on her butt like she did the other times. Honestly, she wouldn't have minded if she fell in front of just Kai because she was starting to get comfortable with him, but he just ruined that. Now, Kai invited everyone to watch her fail.

_Beautiful. _

"What's up?" Cole asked.

"How'd we teach Lloyd Spinjitzu?" Kai inquired. "Chels can't do it yet and I forget how we even learned it."

"I don't remember myself," Lloyd shrugged.

"It is all up to her. Spinjitzu cannot be physically taught. It comes from inside the person," Zane explained.

Chelsea sighed. _Well that's just great. How am I supposed to find it in myself to do Spinjitzu? Do I feel it or something?_

"Then I guess you're just going to have to try and we'll help as much as we can," Kai summarized.

The group looked at the woman who stared off in thought, a mildly pissed off look on her features. The grey ninja felt her cheeks burn from the attention and was very thankful she couldn't blush. So what was she supposed to do? Spin around until she somehow transformed into a tornado? How did that even happen? She'd trip over her own two feet just from the dizziness. Chelsea was sure she'd look foolish.

Looking back at the group sheepishly, she scratched the nape of her neck. "Could one of you demonstrate? Please? Maybe if I see it up close, I'll get it."

"I'll do it," Jay volunteered. The others stepped back and Chelsea followed their movements. The blue ninja wore a smile and lifted his right foot up in preparation. "Ninjaaaaa-" he started before leaping six inches in the air and instantly transforming into beautiful winds of blue, "Gooooo!" Lightning bolts surrounded him as he spun with purpose, creating a bit of breeze. A couple of seconds had gone by and the red-head stopped, easily landing back on his feet. He walked towards the group, smacking invisible dust off his hands. "That's it. Easy enough, right?"

Chelsea blinked, giving him an 'are you serious?' look. She pointed at the spot where he had just done the legendary move. "You mean I have to yell that in order for it to work?"

Jay paused, a thoughtful look on his face. He shrugged. "Well, I don't think so, but it adds finesse so you have to do it. It's a trademark," he argued. The others nodded in agreement.

The kunoichi gave an uncomfortable groan.

Oi vey.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Nya<span> _**

After breakfast, Nya had declared she wanted to keep an eye on the emerald tracker since they were about to fly over the Gorki Mountains. She claimed there was a good chance one of the emeralds could be around here and she didn't want them to miss it. It was a considerably reasonable excuse to skip training and sensei had allowed it to her pleasure. Sure she felt a bit of guilt when Chelsea gave her a pleading look as she was whisked away to the desk, eyes still puffy from sleep, but Nya quickly got over it.

Life wasn't fair. Oh well.

Besides, it wasn't like Nya was required to join in. Technically, she wasn't even obligated to wake up at the same time as the ninja, but she couldn't miss out on all the training sessions. She's learned so much from just watching and, when the ninja allowed her to, training. It proved useful in many cases and Nya was pretty proud of herself for using her own grit and abilities when she saved the ninja more than once.

Proves that girls can fight too.

Traveling over to the large green screen, her light verdant eyes watched as the white line circled around the screen endlessly. Each time it made a full circle, it pulsated, letting the short woman know it was actively working. Nya let her chin rest in her hand in slight boredom. Maybe it would've been better if she had just joined the ninja in their early-morning training session. Yeah, it would've been a chore sluggishly trying to punch one of them in the face, but it would be much more entertaining than staring a computer screen for who knows how long. Her brain told her to just forget this and go out there and work on a few moves but her body said stay here and catch up on some sleep she'd missed from the night before.

Nya didn't get much sleep from last night. In addition to talking to Chelsea about random things, glad to have a roommate to keep her company, the young woman couldn't get the Emeralds of Dualism out of her head. She had never seen or heard anything remotely similar to these gems and she had a feeling not many had either. They had proved that their ancient power was very useful and magnificent. It had turned her brother into a fairy-tale warrior in a matter of seconds and had also healed all of their injuries to perfection without any of them having to try and provoke it. It was almost as if the emeralds had a mind of their own, watching over them as they continued on with their journey. Nya laughed at the thought. Maybe she was a bit off with that theory but it helped her feel a bit safer. Their current enemy had sent tremors through all of them and at this point, if she wanted to think the emeralds were some type of guardian angel, then so be it.

For the rest of the night she wondered about what would happen if all the emeralds would come together. Sensei Wu said that they were used in a war between the Heavens and hell. Their power was incomprehensible and no one really knew what would happen when their full power was unlocked. Would the seven prophesied ninja turn into their powerful ancestors? Who was the seventh ninja? Surely Eltanse would be defeated, but what would happen after that? Sensei Wu also mentioned that the Emeralds of Dualism were too dangerous to exist on the same plane. They would have to do something about the jewels because as soon as the most threatening evil fell, another one would rise. But that also goes to say, who says they'll defeat Eltanse? She's already proven herself to be a powerful queen of something that was a part of life. Who knows what she's really aiming for. As far as Nya's concerned, they still don't even know why the evil deity wants the emeralds.

Beep. Beep.

Green eyes widened in surprise at the sudden sound. Nya shook her head and stood up quickly. The large screen had momentarily blacked out and she typed in the password to show the green screen again. Northwest of the center of the tracker was a white dot. The signal was light, but the device had detected it.

They had found their next emerald.

She typed in a few commands and the device centered in on the relative location of the jewel. Nya waited as it calculated the site and then wrote down the coordinates on a piece of paper. She hurried to the deck to tell the others.

Once she opened the door to the top deck of the flying ship, wind hit her smack on the face. Her dark hair whipped around her face and she winced when a strand got in her eye. She forgot the Gorki Mountains were pretty windy. Pulling the hair out of her eye, she tucked the paper safely in her pocket. Her eyes narrowed from the wind and she couldn't help but laugh at what she saw.

The skilled samurai saw the newest addition to the team spin around crazily. Chelsea spun with speed and when she noticed how fast she was spinning, started to shout out in fright. She was a blur of grey before she bumped into Cole who caught her before she fell. The kunoichi thanked the muscular man, her face looking a bit green from motion sickness. Lloyd and Kai snickered from the funny scene and Jay firmly placed his hands on his hips lecturing on about how she had to say 'Ninja-Go' otherwise it wouldn't be the same. Zane only smiled politely but it was obvious to Nya he was trying to hold back his giggles.

"I think I'll try again," she gulped, holding her hand to her mouth, "tomorrow," she managed to spit out.

Deciding to make her presence known, Nya walked forward. "Hey guys. How's training going?" she asked first, enjoying the fact that yesterday's events hadn't appeared to deter the ninja from their goals.

"Fan-" Chelsea moved away from the black-clad ninja, trying to stand up by herself but stumbled from dizziness. Cole's hands grabbed her waist and back immediately.

"Be careful," he articulated.

Chelsea held her hands out to balance. "I'm good. I'm good," she said to the worried man who gave her a comforted smile in return.

Nya looked at Cole with raised brows. The Earth Master caught her chaff gaze and instantaneously blushed. He gave her a look, silently telling her to knock it off, and went back to making sure the Shadow Ninja was okay. Though he grumbled as he saw Nya lift her dark brows repeatedly in his peripheral vision.

"We're making…some progress," Kai chuckled hopelessly, both he and Lloyd shrugging.

Jay looked between Cole and Nya, catching the eye interaction between the two. His face began to turn red from jealousy and anger and he stepped in between their vision. "We're fine. What is it?" he snapped, never intending for his ticked off attitude to show.

Nya caught the sharp attitude and she scowled. She didn't appreciate the rude tone. Jay's blue eyes were dark as they met angered emeralds. A short game of 'stare the other down' played out before they both huffed and look away. The pale woman gave him one last dirty glare before pulling out the paper and telling them her reason for coming out here.

"The next emerald has been detected. It's somewhere on Glory Mountain," she said.

Zane's pale eyes glowed in recognition. "That's the biggest mountain in the Gorki Mountains. It is about 20,000 feet above sea-level and exceptionally windy," he stated. "We must be extremely careful if we plan to climb it."

"We have to go searching for another emerald already?" Lloyd whined. "We just found one yesterday. Can't we just wait till tomorrow?"

Sensei Wu's chuckle attracted attention from the others. "Like your father once said to me, never put off tomorrow, what can be done today, dear nephew. We need to collect those emeralds as fast as we can."

The teen groaned but muttered, "Yes sensei."

"What is this I hear about another emerald?"

"Nya says there's another on Glory Mountain. So I guess we're heading off over there today," Kai explained.

"But we can't just climb the mountain without some type of equipment. We'd fall off sooner or later. Like Zane said, it's really windy and dangerous," Jay pointed out not liking the idea of having to go rock climbing at all.

The old man only smiled and took a sip out of his tea. "It is a good thing I have some rope and graveling hooks for each of you."

Jay sighed, disheartened. "Of course you do."

"Kai, Chelsea, have you two tried anything with the emeralds yet?"

The two looked at each other before bowing their heads a bit. "No," they answered.

"You must make time to train with them. It is important we try and learn as much as we can. They will aid us greatly against Eltanse in future battles. I hope she doesn't show up today," he scolded. His pupils looked down in slight embarrassment before bowing and replying with, "Yes sensei."

Wu nodded. "Alright then. I will give you some time to prepare but meet back here no later than ten. We must start searching."

The group of seven bowed and their teacher left without another word. Nya eyes landed on pale skin and blue eyes. Her expression darkened once again and before Jay could say anything she promptly turned on her heel and stormed off the deck and back into the inner walls of the Bounty. She didn't want to be in the red-head's presence if all he was going to do was be rude towards her when she's done nothing. The Lightning Ninja's reaction was much like hers. Jay gritted his teeth, his fists tightening by his sides. He too stormed off the deck and slammed the door behind him.

The other left looked at where the two stormed off. Giving each other a peculiar look, they shrugged.

"Uh…did I miss something?" Kai scratched his head wondering how the usually happy-go-lucky couple (kinda) was so grumpy at each other.

"They were fine last night," Cole said, raising a thick brow.

"Perhaps Nya touched one of Jay's machines," Zane suggested.

"It's just love…I guess," Chelsea said with uncertainty. She too was a bit confused and planned on asking Nya about it later.

Lloyd shook his head. "I'll never get those two."

* * *

><p><em><strong>AN: Jasper is basically depicted after Zayn from One Direction. Happy birthday to him! No one can convince me he's human. He's so beautiful wtf XD **_

_**The Gorki Mountains do not exist (at least I'm sure they don't) and Glory Mountain doesn't either. It's all made up, I promise. Anyway, how'd you like it? This chapter was short compared to the others but it was a nice break. Also, this was a honestly a filler chapter. It was pretty hard to write and I won't lie to myself, it sucked. There was so much dialogue and that makes me uncomfortable for some reason. But whatever. We must go on!**_

_**Not much to say other than writing sparring scenes is a lot harder than it looks.**_

_**I'll come back and edit this. I just have to find my reading glasses :P**_

_**I hope you enjoyed it and tell me what you think!**_

_**Thank you!**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**Update!**_

_**Thank you for the reviews, favourites, and follows. I really appreciate and it encourages me to keeep writing. Keep doing you and be proud of your interests. This is really random but I experianced something not too long ago and I want to let you guys know that even though I'm a complete stranger, you guys can talk to me about anything if need be. i can listen if that's all you need and if you really want someone to talk to-even if it's about nothing at all-I'll be glad to. I love you.**_

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners.**

* * *

><p><em>"There is scarcely any passion without struggle." <em>  
><em>― Albert Camus<em>

* * *

><p>Chapter 6<p>

_**Glory Mountain**_

So Cole was really good at rock climbing.

Go figure. The guy looked like a mini version of hulk. No one was really complaining as he leapt ahead, springing up the rocky mountain as if they were playing a simple game of hopscotch. If this sorry excuse for an enjoyable activity was what he called fun, then who were they to diminish his happiness?

But he didn't need to rub it in.

Sorry but some people weren't two-hundred pounds of pure muscle, okay? There was no need to laugh if the others trailed behind. His teasing did not help anything. It was getting cold, their hands were hurting, and the rope attached to their waist was giving the rest of the ninja and samurai serious rope burn. They couldn't all be good at everything. They might be the heroes of this world, but that didn't mean climbing 20,000 feet of rock was easy.

Unless you were Cole that is.

"Do you guys want to get the emerald _today_?" the dark-haired man shouted, a taunting smile on his lips. This was really fun for him. Not only was he able to rightfully proclaim the title for the best, but the looks on Kai and Jay's faces were just helping this day become even greater.

Aggravation couldn't even begin to explain the scorching hot temper that flamed in the red and blue ninja's chest. Okay, so maybe the lack of activity had lowered their stamina and, yeah, Cole was admittedly the best rock climber out of all of them, but was he seriously going to stomp it in their face? This was the third time the Earth Ninja had reprimanded them teasingly in a matter of ten minutes. If he didn't cool it Kai and Jay would have no problem making sure he wouldn't be climbing rocks for a long time.

"Hey, you wanna do me a favor and shut your trap? Thanks," the Lightning Master sneered, grabbing the edge of rock with his sore hands.

Kai pulled on the rope, heaving himself up. "I swear on the life of the Overlord if this guy says one more thing…" he grumbled.

Cole leaped onto another mini cliff, standing upon the sturdy edge were the graveling hooks dug into and looking down at his struggling teammates. Red and blue were climbing at about the same rate, grumbling and spitting out curses that the Black Ninja could clearly hear. Behind them was Zane and Lloyd who climbed on without much complaint and behind him was Nya and Chelsea, the latter looking as if she despised all that was known to mankind.

Moppy black hair was thrown about in the constant breeze. "Oh come on. Even the girls aren't sweating as much as you guys."

Nya's verdant eyes glared at the muscular man above, standing so proudly. She'd love to be the first one to wipe that cocky grin off his stupid face. "What's that supposed to mean?" she grunted, wincing as hard rocked rubbed against her clothed knee. Why the hell didn't she just stay on the Bounty? She wasn't a ninja. She didn't need this.

"How the hell am I supposed to sweat if I can't even feel my freaking face?" the Grey Kunoichi growled to herself though Nya could hear just fine. She could also hear how much the woman wanted to replace certain words with much colorful vocabulary but made the decision to hold back on it. Nya really didn't understand why though. She was for anything at this point.

"What was that!?" Cole asked, placing his hands on the sides of his mouth.

Chelsea squeezed her eyes shut as a powerful breeze flew by, catching her off guard. When it passed she blinked, gripping her rope, and giving the team leader a dirty look. "Nothing," she snapped.

Cole scratched the back of his head and shrugged indifferently. "Well, okay then," he muttered to himself. He tilted his head back, narrowing his eyes as the sun slid out from behind the tip of the mountain. About a few feet to the left, a bit above them, was a plateau cut inside the mountain. If they wanted to thoroughly search for the emerald, they would have to look at each corner and crevice of it. "There's a large flat area over there," he pointed, "Meet me up there and don't take too long. We have to hurry!" With that, he leapt up and continued on with ease, not even needing the rope.

"We'll be there in a couple minutes!" Lloyd sighed. He too was getting a bit annoyed with the avid climber but there was no use in trying to pick a fight, so he just kept quiet and traveled along.

"We would have to climb at extreme speeds if we plan on arriving on the plateau in just-"

"I wasn't being literal Zane," the blonde teen said with an unintentional huff.

The nindroid nodded his head once, taking in the comment, remembering it for the future. He calmly went on climbing, allowing the Green Ninja to move in front of him.

Up on the large piece of flat land, the Earth Master observed that a small cave lied ahead. It wasn't very exciting or anything. Just a massive rock that had been eroded so much it hovered over more rock. The wind had picked up a bit and he was getting a bit chilly. Even under the decent warmth provided by his normal attire consisting of his ebony gi, his tan skin was starting to pale. Cole didn't really get cold that easily so it was kind of surprising to him. But the sun that floated brightly above him did provide some heat.

Behind him he heard the graveling hooks move out of the dark stone. Cole turned around to see the rest of the team; some of them helping others up and some taking the pieces of metal out and un-wrapping the rope from around their waists.

"So now what?" Jay asked, walking up to Cole.

The Black Ninja set his equipment by a medium-sized stone, the others doing the same. "We look in that cave and if we find nothing, we go on to the next ones over there," he pointed to two larger caves further above. They were more prominent and resting on the very edges of the stone.

"Sounds like a plan."

Leading on, the group headed into the small cave and searched for another emerald. Unfortunately, they nothing of the sort—just more rock and jagged stone. Zane was intrigued to find dark purple icicle-type shards hanging from the ceiling. Chelsea was very displeased to find a couple spiders crawling around and squeaked in fright when a particularly large one ran up the side of the wall, by her face. Lloyd only groaned in irritation as his shoulders were gripped tightly by the older woman.

"Well there's nothing here," Nya stated, turning over a large pebble by a wall.

"Let's move on," Kai grunted.

…

On they went, struggling onwards to the third cave in sight. With their graveling hooks securely in the rock—thanks to Cole—the ones who needed to used the rope to climb up the steep hills. Their hands were starting to redden, sore from the rough contact.

It was starting to get a bit too windy for the Blue Ninja's comfort. Honestly, he didn't weigh that much. In fact, out of all the male ninja, he was the smallest possibly rivaling Lloyd. He was even sure Chelsea weighed more than him considering her height and figure. As depressing as that was for him, he usually never thought much of it but at times like this, it was quite a downer.

As the wind's force and speed increased as they climbed, it was getting harder to actually move. In addition to the balls of his feet having a hard time gripping the stone, the harsh breeze was making it hard to stay in one spot. It was—literally—pushing him. This of course caused him to slow down a bit, but he wasn't too embarrassed. If he wasn't mistaken, it looked like most of the others were struggling against the current weather conditions also.

Kai was gritting his teeth, trying not to let his struggle show on his face. Lloyd had been pushed to the side a bit but was able to quickly regain his composure and go on, no matter how hard the wind blew. Chelsea really looked like she was struggling. She completely lost her footing giving a small yelp. Zane, who was doing just fine, jumped back and quickly helped her onto her feet. Of course Cole was ahead of them, but the red-haired man could tell his initial speed was slowing also.

Lastly, dark blue eyes landed upon the petite dark-haired girl that climbed upon the gravely rock without a problem. The wind blew her ebony short hair messily about her head and Jay couldn't help but to think that she looked like a goddess; Athena to be exact. Each time her hands traveled up the rope, gripping onto the rough material, her arms tensed to pull her up and even through the red long sleeves of her shirt, he could see the lean muscle. She bit her cherry lip her right leg traveled upwards, heaving her up. Her jade irises glowed through her dark hair as she stared up in determination.

Nya looked like the embodiment of a warrior who was also a queen mixed in with some type of deity.

How could someone look so beautiful while doing something that required such labor?

Jay looked away and continued on with his task. He shook his head half-trying to rid of the foreboding thoughts and half-trying to get his hair out of his eyes. If he were to let his thoughts get the best of him, he'd forget why he and the fiery ninja's sister weren't on good terms as of now.

Well, actually, he didn't know why either—but that didn't matter.

Nya was acting like a straight up jerk to him, for no reason whatsoever. So if she thought it was okay, then it was 100% acceptable to act the same way. Ever since Eltanse showed her ugly face, things between them had taken an unexpected turn for the worst. Jay didn't know what he did but if she was trying to get a point across, it didn't need to involve Cole. They already settled things between them awhile ago and trying to make him jealous wasn't going to help. He didn't know if she knew, but he was keeping tabs on her. Yeah, maybe he was invading her privacy, but that's what couples (not really anymore he guessed) do…okay?

Jay saw that time when they were whispering to each other in the sick bay, giggling like children. He noticed that she had suddenly decided to sit next to Cole and not him during breakfast, this morning. Also, don't think for a second he didn't catch their flirting about two hours ago. Jay definitely saw Nya eyebrows wiggle at Cole.

_Wiggle. _

How old were they? Twelve? Was this middle school?

Out of everything, that's what set him off the most. Not only did she make the first move, but Cole actually raised his thick_ (ugly) _brows back and blushed. All of this happened right in front of him. Did they not have any modesty? Was he a ghost or something? Was this 'Make Jay so Angry he Could Murder Anyone Day'? Because it sure felt like it!

Usually he'd go straight for Cole and falcon-punch him or something because it was normally his fault. Rocks-for-brains was always trying to aggravate him but, this time, it was Nya. Albeit, he didn't like thinking that the samurai was at fault for anything, he just couldn't ignore it anymore. Every time the two interacted, it was because she started it. Why? It obviously to tick him off and get under his skin because she right after their conversation ended, she'd give him a dirty look and then briskly walked away from him.

It was very rude, and not to mention irritating because she knew how to make him angry.

He also didn't even get why he was being put through this. All he did was ask if she liked cherry pie.

Was that offensive or something?

Suddenly having this sudden energy burst through his muscles, Jay started to increase in speed, his face turning strawberry red from anger. He grumbled under his breath.

"Stupid Nya. Always finding a way to make me mad. I didn't even do anything." Jay grunted as he pulled himself up. "Stupid Cole. Looking like he's on steroids. He needs a haircut anyway."

The wind's speed picked up for a quick second but it was long enough for it to cause him to lose his footing. Jay's breath caught in his throat as the rope tightened around hi thin waist. He gritted his teeth and winced, his fingers gripping at the stone, his legs swinging in the air. Then, a soft hang wrapped around his wrist giving him enough stability to get his feet on the stony wall once again. He looked up to see the girl that was the source of his internal agony.

"Are you okay?" Nya grunted voice flat.

Jay couldn't help but get captivated in her verdant irises. They were just so beautiful; lit with an unquenchable fire and filled to the brim with compassion and-

"I'm fine," he muttered and looked away immediately. The conflicted man roughly snatched his wrist away from her hand.

The Lightning master didn't look up until he heard her make her way up. As soon as he did though, he gritted his teeth and held his head in fury. Why the heck did she have to do that!? Did she really have to help him? Weren't they supposed to be mad at each other? Wasn't she supposed to laugh at him because he was sure he looked pretty funny just dangling there?

No. He would not let her get to him. She was just trying to confuse him and make him feel guilty. It was all Nya's fault this was happening anyway. If she would just tell him what in Ninjago he did for him to receive the cold shoulder, all of this would be over, but instead, she wanted him to figure it out. Jay wasn't afraid to say he was smart.

But he was never educated in the minds of the female population.

It was a subject not one man was able to break down into understandable terms.

Stupid Nya. Stupid Cole. Stupid Eltanse. Stupid Nya. Stupid mountain. Stupid rock. Stupid, pretty, Nya. Stupid emeralds. Stupid, ugly, Cole. Stupid Nya. Stupid, stupid, stupid, stup-

"You okay zaptrap? You look a little red," Cole announced.

Jay only shook his head, cursing explicitly in his head.

He continued his climb, cheeks burning.

* * *

><p><em><span><strong>Lloyd<strong>_

Nothing was inside the third cave, as expected.

It was safe to say they were a good 10,000 feet above sea level. Other than the terrifying height, the harsh winds, the abnormally chilly temperatures, the popping of the ears, and the fact that their hands and feet ached like hell, they were doing pretty well.

Actually, no.

This was torture.

The only reason why Lloyd hadn't outright collapsed was because Nya had thought ahead and packed small snacks and water bottles for the trip. He would kiss her if he wasn't so tired.

It didn't really help his exhaustion as Cole pointed out another cave nearby. Luckily, it looked like they could walk there instead of having to climb, but still. Lloyd would rather lie down and rest. But no. They couldn't do that because "Eltanse could attack at anytime".

Yeah, okay. Whatever.

Lloyd knew he was being a big baby and a bit melodramatic but he really didn't care. He was way too tired to care. This search would've been a whole lot easier if they had just taken the bounty or their dragons but apparently that would've been even more dangerous. According to Zane, it would be, to put it in simple terms, a complete disaster traveling on the four combined dragons in such harsh winds. Same thing goes with the Bounty. Also, there were too many other mountains surrounding Glory Mountain and the chances of running into one of them was pretty high.

Well, he could see the reasoning in that. Hurting the dragons for no good cause was a bit reckless. They also couldn't risk damaging the Bounty because they wouldn't have a home and wasting time was not an option with the dark deity on the loose, but Lloyd was just so fed up with walking it clouded his better judgment.

"Why is the sun even out if it's this cold?" Chelsea grumbled irritably. She then turned to the burning star, glaring at it. "Don't you have a job to do?" she accused.

It was obvious the Grey Ninja had officially lost her marbles. Lloyd and Nya snickered at the silly accusation but could see where she was coming from. Zane asked her why she was yelling at the sun considering it wasn't a person and then asked if she could communicate with it. That earned him a peculiar look from the 19-year-old, but she just shook her head and told him that she was just tired.

If it weren't for the warm clothing sensei told them to put on, they were sure to freeze to death. Maybe that was a bit dramatic but still. Lloyd was very thankful he wore a green jacket over the long-sleeved shirt he had on. Everyone else either wore a hoodie or a jacket/sweater. Sensei Wu wasn't joking when he said the temperatures would drop a bit up here.

As they walked along, Lloyd looked up at the blue-ish grey sky above them, having nothing else to do. He winced in surprise as he walked straight into Kai's back.

"Huh? What's wrong Kai?" Lloyd said, rubbing his cheek.

"Do you feel that?" the brown-haired man said warily. His amber eyes were narrowed in concentration as he stepped back, his arms and hands tense.

The group looked at him curiously and then looked at the ground. There were slight tremors coming from the dark stone. They were small and unnoticeable but it soon increased. Soon, the ground was shaking so much that it was difficult to stand without stumbling.

"What's going on?" Jay exclaimed, placing a hand on the mountain side.

Slamming onto the ground next to Cole, a huge boulder made a dangerous dent in the stone. Looking up incredulously, dread filled the depths of the group's stomach as ebony warriors crawled down from the top of Glory Mountain.

"Looks like we've got company!" the Earth Ninja shouted over the rumbling.

Rocks of all sizes began to fall from above them thanks to the grotesque Shadow Soldiers. Eltanse appeared to be nowhere in sight but they were certain she had to be around here somewhere. Dodging the rocks as best as they could upon the narrow pathway, the group ran to an area with a wider foundation. There, it would be easier to fight.

The black monsters roared and screeched, babbling nonsense the heroes couldn't understand before lunging at them. Quickly, the ninja changed into suitable attire and fought the soldiers as they came. Due to the limited amount of space, Lloyd found himself bumping into his teammates a lot. It was a major setback because each time they hit one another it would only distract them and allow a Shadow Soldier to attack.

Taking out his elemental blade, Lloyd countered a dark sword heading to slice his face open. Pushing back, he gritted his teeth as he hit the sword out of the soldier's hands and kicked him off the side of the cliff. Taking this chance to run, he followed the others up to the flat area. Once they got there, they were seemingly surrounded by their dark enemies. Holding out their weapons, the group backed into each other, forming a circle, looking like cornered mice.

"Where'd they all come from?" Chelsea scowled.

"I'm more worried about how Eltanse found us again," Cole grunted.

In a moment of silence, everything was still. The ninja and samurai held their breath, waiting for something to happen. It wasn't too long before a loud shriek tore through the air and the Shadow Soldiers ran towards them.

Having a better grip of reality served well for the blonde teen. Now that he knew what he was up against, Lloyd was able to attack with confidence. The Shadow Soldiers were still tough opponents but now he knew what he was dealing with. He plunged his blade a soldier's stomach and then using the leverage to jump up and kick another one in the head. Lloyd took the sword out of the being, ignoring the black blood oozing off of it and countered the attacks of a dark sword.

He stepped back as the monster growled savagely at him, its white fangs gleaming with saliva. A noise of disgust left the ninja's mouth and he was able to free himself from its hold. From behind him another evil soldier charged for his head, with the intent to kill but Lloyd saw it coming. He jumped up, letting it run into the first one. They stumbled back giving the Green Ninja enough time to throw his sword, killing two birds with one stone. The beasts fell ungracefully on top of each other, their bodies slowly vanishing into the air.

Lloyd smirked in satisfaction and walked over to retrieve his sword. Just before he was able to grab it, he was hit in the side. His body harshly hit the stone cold ground and he and an ebony enemy slid towards the edge of the mountain. Grimacing in pain, he wasn't able to see the Shadow Soldier stand up and limp towards him, hissing. It lunged at him and Lloyd's eyes snapped his eyes open as its claws sunk into the ground beside his head. The teen took a hold of the other hand that swiped for his face. Its teeth came dangerously close to throat and it roared inhumanly as Lloyd screamed.

The tip of his head hung over the edge and Lloyd was kicking with all of his might when the black being started to push them over the mountain side. When his entire head hung over the cliff, the Shadow Soldier's head was swiped clean off. Lloyd's green eyes widened as the body fell on top of him. Shaking his head, he pushed it off and slid forwards so his head was on the ground.

"Are you alright Lloyd?" Zane asked.

Black blood stained his gi but it was quickly evaporating. The young ninja nodded his head gratefully and accepted the hand the Polish nindroid offered. Scurrying up to his feet, he was handed his sword.

"Thanks," he panted.

Zane nodded. "We must hurry and help the others," he said.

Lloyd gave a nod and the two hurried over to the others.

* * *

><p><em><span><strong>Cole<strong>_

Spinning into a tornado of earth, Cole was able to take out three of the horrid soldiers in a matter of seconds. Though, when he stopped, he noticed that more rocks kept sliding off the sides of the mountain. They hit the ground and some of the others had to leap away from the falling rocks.

"If we use our elemental powers too recklessly, it could cause an avalanche, so try your hardest not to use it," he shouted.

The wind kept hounding on them. Cole had to really concentrate in order to get past the strands of ebony hair attacking his eyes. Hearing screeching coming from his left, the Earth Master's scythe met the black sword. The Shadow Soldier shrieked at him, red eyes gleaming ruthlessly.

It brought up its sword, leaving its mid section open. Cole wasted no time in running his blade through the monster's torso. Another one leapt in the air and managed to land a blow on him. Its sword skimmed the top of his arm, cutting through the black material and cutting his skin. He hissed, putting a hand to the scratch.

Shaking it off, he charged at the ebony soldier and he slid on the ground, knocking it off its feet. He then landed a powerful kick to its side, managing to launch it off the mountain. Cole chuckled a bit as he heard it scream in terror (or anger), the scratchy voice fading away. Then another one jumped on him, making him fall hard on his back. He grunted in pain, his brain pounding against his skull. His murky green eyes looked up in dizziness as the Shadow Soldier lifted its sword to plunge it into his head.

Just as Cole was about to kick it off, an arrow struck its chest, killing it instantly. It fell to the side and dark blood trickled out of the hole. The Black Ninja lied there confused before a hand stuck out before him.

"You okay?" Chelsea smiled.

Blinking, Cole shook his head. He accepted the smaller hand and pulled himself up. Chelsea was suddenly pulled forward because of this and ran into his chest. She looked up to see the ninja staring down at her and immediately backed away, trying not to make a big deal out of it. Though her face was heating up from embarrassment, she faced him.

"You know I had it handled?" Cole smirked.

The kunoichi rolled her eyes and gave him a look. "Yeah sure," she sarcastically retorted before laughing.

Cole found himself giving a short chuckle at the sight of her laughing. His lips stayed in a small smile as they both stared at each other. The harsh wind was blowing through her ebony curls and slapping the tall woman's cheeks, but the headband on top of her head was keeping her hair from her eyes. At that moment, Cole's eyes roamed her face instantly spotting a couple of scratches on her jaw line. He really didn't know what possessed him to do so but he reached out for it, tenderly smoothing his thumb over wound. There wasn't any blood leaking from the tiny scratch but it still bothered him for some reason.

Chelsea's dark eyes widened in wonder and he knew this was probably getting a bit awkward, but Cole didn't want to stop. As odd as it sounded, he kind of liked the idea of being worried over such a small thing. Only when it had to do with her though. That was the weird part.

"I hope that doesn't scar," he said.

"Uh…yeah…" the kunoichi absent mindedly agreed.

It seemed as if both of them had plummeted into a daze, smiling goofily at the other.

Cole didn't even think about it when the word 'beautiful' popped up in his head.

"Sorry to break up you two love birds but we could use all the help we can get right now," Kai grunted, leaping back as a Shadow Soldier lunged for him.

Right away, Cole's eyes widened and he blinked as the dark-skinned woman stepped back and prepared to shoot her arrow.

"Love birds?" he questioned.

Chelsea scowled as she ran towards Kai to help him. The Earth Ninja shook his head, silently wondering what just happened. He reached for his scythe and held it in front of him, getting ready to attack.

The Shadow Soldiers were starting to decrease in number. As Cole's eyes scanned the battle field, his green irises lied on Nya who fought her way skillfully through the three ebony evil beings. She jumped up, kicking one of them in the back of the head and using the same one to hit the other two, flinging them off the sides of the cliff. Taking out gear from her suit, she used two dagger-like weapons, throwing them towards two soldiers that were on top of Jay. They were killed on contact and fell, vanishing into the air.

Cole thought the Lightning Ninja would've been grateful or even fall in a daze at Nya's flawless performance but, to his surprise, Jay gave her the rudest look Cole has ever seen. He has _never_ seen the shorter man look at her that way. The glare just didn't even look right on his face. It was like it pissed him off that Nya helped him. Jay glared at the petite girl the same way he glared at him when he made that joke that one time Nya was taken away by the Overlord. It was…he didn't know how to describe it. Was it because she was a girl or something? Or were they still angry at each other for who knows what? Still, it was rather rude and Cole would have to talk to him about it later.

Naturally, Nya returned the look and even grunted in irritation as she stomped the other way, her weapons flying back to her hands. It would've been a good choice to talk to one of them and find out why the air was so cold between them, but Cole thought it would be best to wait.

They were kind of in the middle of a battle.

Cole turned around and saw a Shadow Soldier creep behind the fuming dark-haired woman. It protracted its fangs and claws and let out a horrifying screech, lunging for her. Cole felt her name rip through his lips and Nya's head darted towards him.

"Behind-"

But he was too late.

Landing harshly on her, the ebony warrior sunk its sword deep into the stony ground beside her head. Nya screamed out of surprise and struggled to get her hands from beneath it. She kicked rabidly, grunting in fear and irritation as it roared. Raising its claw, it swung down for her cheek and Nya was able to take out her hand and hold its wrist. She forced herself to hold back a scream as it sunk its claws into her arm, spilling a bit of blood.

Before she knew it, the front half of the ebony being fell limp on her face and she felt liquid seep onto her clothing. Snorting in disgust, she pushed the corpse off of her and propped herself on her elbows.

Cole gave her a charming smirk, lending a hand to her. Nya smiled gratefully and took his clammy hand. Pulling herself up, she looked down at her darkened sweater and scrunched her nose up in displeasure.

"It'll disappear in a couple minutes," Cole said, laughing at her appearance.

"It still doesn't make it any less disturbing. It even smells bad too," she stuck out her tongue, making an exaggerated noise.

The two laughed. Cole shook his head, pushing his hair back from his face. Nya's humorous expression suddenly dropped and Cole turned around but it was too late. Two Shadow Soldiers were on top of them, growling in their faces. The two struggled to keep the gigantic claws from ripping their faces off. A single claw managed to swipe across the Black Ninja's cheek and he hissed at the minor sting.

A bolt of lightning fell from the sky, instantly electrocuting the two soldiers. They fell limp on the dark-haired duo, burned to a crisp. Cole and Nya pushed the bodies off of them and warily stood up. The muscular man noticed a couple of rocks falling down the mountain side but not enough to cause any damage.

Jay walked towards them and the corners of Cole's lips rose in a grateful smile.

"Hey, thanks dude. Just try not to use your-"

"Can you just back off!" Jay's furious voice cut through the team leader's sentence.

Confusion settled in the creases of the taller ninja's forehead. Thick brows frowned as the blue-clad man glared at him with such malice, it was unbelievable.

"What are you talking abou-" he was once again cut off.

Jay leaned forward. "Don't think you can just weasel your way between Nya and I again. It happened once, and I'm not letting it happen again, okay? So would you just do me a favor and back the hell away from her!" he growled loudly, rage radiating from his person.

The attitude and harsh words sparked a temper within the ninja. Cole scowled. "I don't know what the heck you're talking about but you need to calm down and watch your-"

From behind him, Cole could hear another strike of lightening fall upon an ebony monster, a piercing scream leaving its mouth before falling with a thud. Larger rocks fell from above them, hitting their battle grounds from with power. Small, unnoticeable, tremors traveled through the rock beneath them.

His anger immediately vanished and a frown of worry creased his head. "Jay, you can't use your powers. You'll cause an-"

"And you!" Jay's finger pointed dangerously at the fuming girl. "If you think for one minute what you're trying to do to me will work, then I've got some news for you. All you're doing is making yourself look stupid and desperate," he spat viciously.

As the boy's anger began to increase, so did the power of the lightning strikes. Reacting to his emotions, the powerful bolts of light singed the ground and the enemies running to attack them. This caused the mountain's shaking to increase in power, making more rocks tumble off the side. A rather large fell right next to the Black Ninja and he jumped in surprise.

Cole flinched at the brutal comment but put his hands up in worry. "Okay, Jay, you seriously need to-"

Nya turned a flaming red color. She smacked his finger away from her face and stepped up to face him. "First of all, don't put your finger in my face. Second of all, if you don't take that back I promise you you'll wish you would've never met me," she seethed.

The sky began to darken into an ugly grey as the blue-clad ninja shook with rage. More lightning bolts hit the ground and, this time, they were dangerously close to the three. Cole felt his heart rate spike as more rocks began to fall and they were bigger. The others were now dodging the boulders, trying not to get squished.

"Well you're a little late because I kinda wish I hadn't!" Jay snarled.

"You are the biggest jackass I have ever met in my entire life. You're screaming at me for nothing!" the girl yelled.

"Guys, it's-"

"Nothing!? _Nothing!? _You started this! I did nothing to you but you decide to be a big jerk and go flirt with Cole! You don't even have the decency to do it behind my back! You just do it right in front of me just to piss me off!"

Cole's eyes widened as Jay started to literally glow.

This was bad.

"Look at that! Not only are you dense but you're also disillusioned. Go figure. Congratulations for being the biggest ass-clown in Ninjago Jay!" Nya scoffed.

That had drawn the line for the Lightning Ninja. He lost all self control and screamed, "Oh yeah!? Then I guess the award for the biggest slut goes to you! Why don't you just go screw Cole's brains out while you still have the chance!? I wouldn't be surprised if you already have!"

Nya let out an offended and utterly furious grunt. The retort slapped her in the face, leaving her speechless and angry beyond comprehension.

Cole's worrying instantly vanished and a mean scowl edged his features.

That was just overdoing it.

He stepped in front of Nya and growled dangerously, his eyes turning dark with disapproval. "Jay. That's taking it too far."

Releasing a scream of frustration, Jay's dark blue eyes lit up dangerously, a blue aura surrounding his body. He gnashed his teeth and shoved the team leader with an astounding amount of strength. Cole fell to the ground and looked up at the glowing man.

"Jay-"

"Just shut up. Shut up! Shut up! SHUT UP!" he bellowed, almost monstrously.

As the furious man loomed over the Black Ninja, the sky's clouds split into two and a massive thunder bolt shot down. The wind picked up, furiously batting against the group. The yellow charged bolt hit the ground, in the center of the clear flat land, and caused the mighty mountain to shake horridly.

Everyone standing was knocked off their feet as a thunderous storm was created. The rocks rained upon them at full speed, stones of all sizes pelting the ground through the harsh rain. Jay, who shook his head, back to normal, looked up in time to see a rock come his way. He jumped out of place and looked around in confusion as many more hit the ground. It wasn't until he saw a massive pile of rocks roll down their way that his eyes widened in horror.

"Avalanche!" Lloyd yelled.

Cole looked around for a place to take cover in and when his green eyes landed on the cave near them, he wasted no time in shouting, "To the cave!"

They bolted behind their leader and into the naturally created cave walls where they would be safe. Large rocks piled up in front of the opening and in a matter of seconds, the only exit out of there was sealed shut.

Harsh pants distributed about the large cave. Cole straightened up, looking around even though he couldn't really see much. It was dark, a bit humid, and the only source of light was coming from the tiny holes naturally created in ceiling.

"Is everyone okay?" he asked in a semi-loud voice.

A murmur of yeses strung from the groups mouths and Cole sighed in relief.

"What just happened?" Chelsea asked rubbing her hands up her arms.

When no one answered she tilted her head a bit and looked between the blue and black ninja who glared at each other in contempt.

"I think what I meant was: Is everything alright?"

Jay looked away, and secluded himself from the rest. Nya didn't even take acknowledge his existence and stood by Kai, squeezing out the water from his sleeve. Cole walked to her and stood by her side. She raised a brow.

"Don't worry about it," he quickly said, shrugging. He slid to the floor and began to take off the top layer of his ninja suit, squeezing out the water.

"Well, alright," she skeptically agreed and helped him.

Because he refused to answer, the others took it as a sign not to question it for now and just sat in their places, squeezing out the water from their own clothing. Cole gave the kunoichi a careful but grateful smile as she took his coat layer and wrenched the water out. His eyes then darted over his blue brother and he sighed involuntarily.

Whatever happened out there had gotten out of control fast and as leader of this team he was obligated to figure it out. But Cole didn't know how. Apparently, he was involved in the main problem. But how could he be involved in something he didn't know anything about. He honestly had no idea what was going on and it was giving him one hell of a headache. The tension in the cave didn't help either.

He felt Chelsea put a pruned hand on his forearm, causing him to look at her dark eyes. "Are you okay?" she said for their ears only.

Cole didn't even bother saying yes. He just looked away, his gaze lying on the reddish-brownish-haired man sitting alone in the corner.

"I don't even know."

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: _****_Cole needs to chill. _**

**_So does Jay. _**

**_And Nya needs to chill too. _**

**_Everyone needs to chill. Why can't we all just be happy? I mean, just grab some pizza and calm dooooowwwnnn._**

**_It's so hard to write about a guy's thought process. I'm a being of the female gender so I've had to ask many guy friends what they typically think when dilemmas show up in their relationships and they all said they don't know what's going on half of the time. _**

**_Same. _**

**_Anyway, so yeah. There's obviously a bit of misunderstanding going on between the three and I enjoyed writing about Jay's freak out. It was fun to imagine. Jay doesn't get genuinely angry so it was kind of hard to write about but fun nonetheless. _**

**_I hope you enjoyed it!_**

**_Review! Review! Review_**

**_I appreciate everything guys. You rock!_**

**_Sylvia-Ann~ _**


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: All characters belong to their respective owners. **

* * *

><p><em>"I hope I am a psychotherapist's dream. I've spent enough hours in therapy."<em>

_-Sia Furler_

* * *

><p>Chapter 7<p>

**_Zane_**

Nindroids couldn't dream, but they could definitely wish they could.

Right now, Zane wished he was dreaming; anything to get away from this. The tension and blatant anger that radiated off his blue-clad ninja was making the White Ninja really uncomfortable. He didn't like it when one of them got angry. It just didn't sit well with him but Zane knew he couldn't do anything as of now. First of all, he didn't know what had transpired between Cole and Jay since the conflict obviously lied between them. Second of all, now would not be the appropriate time to approach the fuming Lightning Master. He needed time to cool down and allow his thoughts to flow rationally. Provoking him would only do harm.

Plus, it was way too quiet to start that type of conversation. Everyone would hear and Zane wasn't about to embarrass himself.

He wasn't that oblivious.

For about half an hour now, the group had been sitting in complete and utter silence. It was almost unbearable, but somehow they were still sane. The darkness of the cave did help in easing the tension because their sight was limited, but their eyes adjusted and it was easy to identify who was who. Tiny dishes of light came from above also aiding in sight. Zane also knew that everyone had the knowledge that he could easily illuminate the cave with his own internal light, but he didn't think anyone would want that right now. He wasn't going to ask either.

His hoodie was comfortably warm—not that he got cold anyway—and dry. All of them were back in their casual wear. Instead of focusing on the uneasiness, Zane decided to figure out how his normal clothes were completely dry when his ninja gi was soaked. In fact, he hadn't really thought of something. Where did his regular attire go when he changed into his gi? Were they tucked away in a secret compartment, or did they just magically disappear? Also, how was it able to restore itself after damage? Now that he thought about it, whenever their attire suffered from rips in the seams or something like that, it went away. The next time they needed their ninja outfits, they were back to perfect condition. Take Chelsea's situation for example. Just yesterday, Zane clearly remembered ripping the dirtied body suit in half to perform CPR. It basically hung by mere pieces of sewing string when they brought her into the medical bay. Just now, her outfit was fully restored, as if nothing happened before.

Wasn't that peculiar?

Before he could dwell on the subject any further, Zane saw the dark-skinned woman travel towards him from her spot by their team leader. His cerulean eyes gazed up at her, glowing brightly in the dark.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" she asked with a gentle smile.

The Ice Ninja scooted over, telling her he was okay with it in body language. Chelsea sat down with a heavy sigh. She crossed her legs and placed her chin in her palm. Her brown eyes were dull with discouragement. Kai and Lloyd scooted closer to the two and they made a sloppy rectangle.

"Did you get anything?" the fire ninja asked for their ears only.

The Grey Ninja shook her head, her lips pursing together in a fine line. "Nope. He wouldn't budge. He's just brooding over there. I don't even think he realizes I moved. Is he usually like this when he's mad or something?"

Kai scratched the back of his head in a half-irritated, half-sheepish, manner. "Yup, that's our Cole," he groaned quietly. "I couldn't get anything out of Nya either. She completely shut me out. I have to let her cool off before she'll cool off."

"What about Jay?" Lloyd asked, sniffing. The lack of warmth combined with the dampness he felt not oo long ago was not agreeing with his nose.

Kai couldn't help but let a playful chuckle escape his chapped lips. He patted the teen's back, smirking. "I don't think we'll be able to talk to that guy for a couple weeks. The dude's literally got sparks on his body. If any of us even attempt to sit near him, it's guaranteed you'd come back with third degree burns. Whatever Cole did this time must've really set him off."

"I have never seen him this angry before. The lightning bolt he sent down caused a massive avalanche. I have not seen so much energy in one strike" Zane added solemnly.

"I hope they're not gonna go through that dumb love triangle again. This has been going on for months," Lloyd added irritably, throwing a small pebble away from them.

Chelsea raised both brows. "Love triangle? You mean they both like Nya?"

The Green Ninja shrugged. "Well, Cole said he didn't but that was obviously a lie. I mean, why else would Jay get so angry? He never gets angry unless it has something to do with hurting his chances with her."

"But I thought Nya and Jay were, like, together…kinda…" Chelsea tilted her head giving the other three a look of confusion. Zane gave her a blank stare while the other two raised their hands in a look of defeat. No one really knew or particularly cared what happened between the two younger ones but when the black-clad ninja got involved, it messed up a lot of stuff. Cole was their leader and when things like this were also added into play, well, let's just say that he wasn't too skilled in the department of love.

Long story short, things got screwy really fast.

Zane heard the kunoichi scoff, looking away with boredom. "Well you learn something every day. And here I thought these things only happened in fanfictions."

The tall ninja's eyes glowed in question. "Fanfiction? You mean like a story?"

Chelsea chuckled and Zane noticed a slight indent in her left cheek only. She waved it off and shook her head. "Yeah, basically. I'll explain it later."

For the longest time, it seemed that silence had played a game of tag with them; tapping them on the shoulder and having them chase it. Unfortunately, it was a very fast runner and they struggled to keep up with it. Currently, it was winning the game and the awkwardness that came into play was exasperating. Zane tried not to let it affect him too much but as he watched the blonde teen flick a pebble farther into the cave, he realized that even his outer shell couldn't deflect such a bellicose feeling.

"Ya know, I didn't know you and Nya were siblings until I found out your last names. You two look and act nothing alike. Well, sometimes," Chelsea suddenly brought up.

Kai took the opportunity to rid himself cumbersome silence. He leaned back onto the cave wall, his hands behind his back, crossing his legs in a boyish manner. "Yeah, we get that a lot. When she was six, I was able to convince her she was adopted and when she finally had the guts to ask our parents and found out she wasn't, she wouldn't talk to me for an entire day. Best day of my life."

Chelsea let out a small laugh and the two began to engage in a conversation about things they have done to their younger sibling. Turns out, the kunoichi had a younger sister. Lloyd would listen intently and then comment with laughter, cheering them for their devious acts.

Zane was stumped. How could people easily interact with one another so easily? How were they able to introduce new topics without cutting off the flow of the conversation and making the air uncomfortable? He was told multiple times that his social skills needed a bit of work. Jay always told him that he just needed to be aware of when and what he spoke. Cole said it was easy to talk to him but it was just that he would spit out random things, catching him off guard.

Listening carefully, the nindroid observed the trio's conversation. He felt a bit left out but planned to change that soon. His mind started to race for ideas and topics that would glide easily along in the dialogue exchange.

"Do you know what I've been thinking about? Where do our ninja outfits come from? Like, does it just appear out of thing air or…" Chelsea trailed off.

Perfect.

"I've been thinking about that too, for awhile. And have you also noticed that they repair themselves after they've taken damage?" Zane spoke.

The other three's eyes brightened up in realization to Zane's delight. Lloyd wagged a finger in the air. "That's true! This is so weird."

"Well Sensei Wu gave us our outfits out of nowhere so I guess it has the same affect? We can always ask him if we ever get out of this damn cave," the Fire Ninja muttered.

"I want a different ninja outfit," Chelsea whined, "Mine is all tight and revealing. I mean, why can't I have a gi, or at least pants of some kind? I don't enjoy my butt and thunder thighs hanging out there for everyone to see. I almost died out there from hypothermia."

"Aside from the whole hypothermia thing, I'm totally okay with your outfit. I don't mind it one bit," he suggestively purred, wiggling his eyebrows obnoxiously. He laughed joyfully as the Shadow Ninja gave him a glare.

"I'm sure you don't," she answered sarcastically, a mock of a smile on her expression.

"Your kunoichi suit is fitted best for your body type. It does you justice and I believe you look quite exceptional in it, but if you feel that uncomfortable, then I'm sure Sensei Wu could add something to it."

At that moment, six separate eyes landed on the nindroid in disbelief. Zane mentally kicked himself. Did he say something awkward again? And here he was doing so well and-

"Zane, did you just flirt?" Kai asked, laughing along in disbelief.

"Yeah, why don't you just say it louder? I'm sure Sensei Wu couldn't hear you!" Chelsea whisper-shouted.

"Zane, did you-"

"She was being sarcastic Kai," Lloyd rolled his eyes.

"I can't believe it!" the red-clad fighter exclaimed, amused and a bit proud.

The poor nindroid blinked, taken aback. He looked over to the Grey Ninja who was obviously uncomfortable in this current situation. She glared at the laughing brunette and shifted in her space. Zane noted how her inability to react in this dilemma had caused both he and Lloyd to just sit there, unable to come up with anything to say to help. Though, Zane had to try to clear up things.

"I was merely complimenting her and encouraging her decisions in-"

"You were _flirting_ Zane," Kai shook his head humorously.

Chelsea narrowed her eyes at him as if to tell him he didn't make sense. "Okay, but why does a person complimenting someone automatically mean they're trying to get into their pants?"

"Yes. I am a bit confused," the White Ninja added.

Lloyd really looked like he wanted to stab all of them, but Zane had questions that needed to be answered.

"I didn't say that," Kai said.

"Then what's the point in flirting?"

"You do it when you think someone's attractive or something. I don't know. It's when you make obvious advances on a person."

"Yeah, but you can compliment someone's attractiveness without it being flirting. Like, I think you're an attractive man and if I said that to you before, I would've been only complimenting you. Nothing more," Chelsea pointed.

Kai shook his head. "No. That's flirting because you don't just go up to someone and say, 'Hey, you're attractive,' without wanting to advance on the person. That's like if I go up to you and say, 'Hey, I just wanted to tell you you're beautiful.' You obviously want to know the person more than just on a friendly level."

Chelsea gaped at him for a second. "I would say thank you and wouldn't make assumptions. I wouldn't think that way unless you tell me 'I like you more than on friendly terms.' Duh."

Kai raised his hands up, backing down from the argument before it got heated. He crossed his arms and smirked to lighten up the air. "Whatever you say, princess. At least you think I'm hot. Are ya sure that's all you think about me? Or wait, should I ask when Zane's not around?" he teased causing Chelsea to playfully hit his arm. She sighed and chuckled hopelessly.

"I hate you," she smiled.

"Same goes for me," Lloyd muttered, earning a light shove from the fiery ninja.

"Hey, you're supposed have my back, bro."

Lloyd gave him a fake smile before rolling his eyes. The three then proceeded to burst into fits of laughter, completely clearing the air.

Zane was still thoroughly confused. A lot of new information just entered his database and he was having trouble settling the data into a comprehensible line. He felt their eyes stare at him as he looked down in thought.

"Are you okay Zane? You look like you're gonna split a wire," the young teen asked for all of them.

The nindroid blinked but kept his gaze glued to the ground. "I assure you my wires will not be splitting anytime soon. I am just…thinking."

Yeah…thinking.

…

To pass the time, the people who weren't despondent made shadows. It wasn't the best way to use their time but, at this point, they would anything to cure their boredom.

Zane was thankful he didn't have to light his head up. Instead, Kai ignited a small flame in the palm of his hand. Lloyd proceeded to make the head of the dog and attempted to have its ears wiggle. Next he tried a turtle and Chelsea cooed at how excited the younger boys was over the little activity.

The White Ninja had to smile at her reaction. He had noticed over a short period of time, her and Lloyd had become quite close. The Grey Ninja was always talking to him and looking out for him. It was obvious the blonde teen would get a bit annoyed if she asked about his well being or offered help, but he was always like that; trying to prove himself independent. It was something he picked up from Kai, his number one role model.

"Zane can make the best hand shadows. Show her!" Lloyd said.

Obliging to the younger ninja's commands, Zane stood up and put himself between the fire and the cave wall. He stuck out his hands and everyone looked to the wall. He successfully made a snail.

The rest marveled at how good it was.

"Woah! That's amazing," said Chelsea.

He felt his confidence rise in his chest and happiness sprouted inside his person. "I can do much more."

Allowing himself to break down his stoic barriers, he made the face of a man and auto tuned his voice to sound very old and British. Next, he made the head of a goat, a bunny rabbit, and much more. With ease, he was able to create animals of all kinds. The others laughed as he made noise and perfectly imitated their signature sounds.

"Hey, Chels, if you're the Ninja of Shadows, shouldn't you be able to at least make a shadow or something. Try it," Kai urged.

The kunoichi gave him a discouraged smile. "Well, here's the thing, I don't even know how to make shadow puppets. But I mean, I have always wanted to try something." Chelsea looked to Zane. "Could you make a butterfly?"

Confused, he gave her a soft look but he saw her look back in reassurance. Nodding, he proceeded to make the simple hand gesture, creating a small butterfly. Peculiarly, Chelsea looked at the shadow. In complete bewilderment, the other three watched as she walked over to the wall and let the tips of her finger tips touch the butterfly's "feet". In astonishment, the all gaped as the butterfly left Zane's hands and hopped onto her hand. The woman carefully held the ebony creature in the palms of her hands facing the three.

"What the-" Kai started.

The black butterfly fluttered its wings, hovering above the woman's hands. Chelsea stared in amazement as it floated naturally in the air. She stuck out her forefinger and it gently perched upon it.

"S-sensei said that I could manipulate shadows if I focused enough. I tried it with the shadows of tables and lamps but I couldn't do it. I-I don't know why this worked," she breathed in consternation, "But it's amazing."

The small, faceless, creature took off from her finger and flew closer to the flame. When it flew too close to the bright flames, it vanished into thin air, its shadowy essence dispersing in the air.

"Woah," Lloyd gasped.

"And you want to know a secret? Have you ever thought about how I never run out of arrows?" Chelsea smiled, excitement oozing off her grin.

Zane thought about it. She never complained about running out of arrows.

"Watch," she commanded. Reaching behind her ear, Chelsea slowly pulled out a pitch black arrow. Appearing out of thin air, she easily twirled it in her hands to make the point face the right way. When she held it firmly, the dark shadows ran off it and unearthed sleek shiny metal. She held out the arrow to let the other ninja see it.

"How come you've never said anything till now?" Kai asked, letting his fingers gingerly touch the weapon.

Chelsea shrugged. "I didn't just want to bring it up randomly and act like I was showing off. Besides, I didn't even know I could do this myself before today. I haven't had a chance to really practice my powers." She twirled the arrow and it quickly disappears into the darkness of the shadows.

"That is quite extraordinary," Zane said genuinely. "I'm sure with more training, and when you unlock your full potential, your powers will help greatly in defeating Eltanse."

"I sure hope so."

"Speaking of defeating Eltanse, have you two practiced using the emeralds?"

They four jumped from the Earth Ninja's stern voice. Kai's flames went out unexpectedly, and the cave went back to being dark. Though, it was still light enough for them to see like before. They looked behind them to see Cole stand with his back straight and a no nonsense expression creasing his forehead. Zane recognized the look immediately.

Cole was not in a very good mood right now.

The Red Ninja sheepishly chuckled, looking away. "Not really." He became quite uncomfortable under their leader's reprimanding glare as did the others.

Cole crossed his arms. "Wouldn't it be better if you were to do something that would benefit us later? Not make stupid shadow puppets."

Understanding the leader had a lot of things going on in his head, the ninja didn't question his comments. It wouldn't help them anyway. After living with each other for a good part of their lives, the ninja learned what to say and when to say certain things with each other. (Save for the times they were careless). If anyone were to bite back at the black-clad ninja right now, it would only tick him off more and no one liked a totally pissed off Cole.

Zane would admit, when Cole yelled, it was quite frightening.

In addition, he had learned that when something made Cole angry, he had a tendency to lose his rational leader thoughts.

In about a second or two, the nindroid would also remember that Chelsea hadn't lived with them for more than a week.

The Grey Kunoichi blinked multiple times, a mildly offended look creeping onto her face. She gave a small sarcastic laugh as she turned her back towards the muscular man. "Sorry we weren't all moping over a girl for an hour straight," she muttered.

This would be an appropriate time to say: _Uh-oh._

No one could tell if the snarky comment was meant for them to hear it also. Maybe Chelsea was just a bad whisperer. They'd never know. But they could clearly see that Cole's frown just got deeper.

"What was that?" he raised his thick brows.

Chelsea only ignored him and shrugged indifferently. She stood next to Kai and the spiky haired boy blinked. "Come on Kai. Let's go practice with the emeralds. We don't want to waste our time. That would be stupid."

"Uh…okay?" he said with a waver in his voice. He obviously didn't want to be any part of this. They both began to walk closer towards the unknown parts of the cave. Zane thought that maybe they would let it go and the snarky comments would stop there, but apparently his apparatus wasn't as high-tech as he thought.

Lloyd and Zane glanced at each other and the younger of the two sighed irritably.

"If you've got something to say, why don't you say it to my face?" Cole exclaimed with a scowl.

"Did you hear something Kai? No? Must've been my imagination."

Kai's eyes widened towards her and he shook his head, silently telling the woman to knock it off. "No. Chelsea, don't do this."

The Earth Master grunted in irritation. "Good to know we have someone immature on the team. We're definitely going to win with someone who can't even properly control their own element."

Now was the time to intervene.

Zane stretched his hand out. "Cole-"

Chelsea, who was now walking without Kai, abruptly paused in her spot. Her head was titled downwards and she made no other movements.

"You know what-"

"I know we're all a little tense, but we can't start a fight now. We need to find a way to get out of this cave and find the next emerald," Lloyd quickly brought up before the silence could turn too uncomfortable.

"He is right. We are sorry Cole," Zane apologized for them. He then lowered his voice for their ears only. "Please calm down."

The team leader sighed and nodded. He rolled back his shoulders and shook his head. His green eyes glanced over to the dark-skinned woman for a second before averting onto the other three. "Right. I remember sensei telling us that the emeralds could teleport us. We need to figure out a way to activate them so we can get out of here."

Kai nodded with determination. "I'm sure if we just work on it, in no time, we'll be out of here." He took out the crimson emerald and studied it. "Somehow, they react when-"

"My emerald is glowing."

The others lifted their heads to the female ninja.

"That means there's another emerald here, right?"

This time, they turned their heads to look back at Nya who stood up and brushed away soot from her less-than-damp sweater. Her emerald eyes glowed precisely in the dark and she confidently walked over to the Grey Ninja. She put a pale hand on the other's shoulder, giving her a reassuring smile. Chelsea smiled back and nodded.

Nya turned her head a bit. "Let's start searching for it then. Eltanse is obviously following us, so we need to act now." With that, she and Chelsea walked forward.

The four ninja looked at each other before they saw the Lightning Ninja walk stonily by them. They stared at him in confusion but nevertheless followed after him.

* * *

><p><strong><em><span>Nya<span>_**

She wasn't going to think about it. She just wasn't. No matter how much the white hot rage burned her skin, boiling the pale flesh into a heap of undeniable hurt, Nya would not think anything of Jay's words.

He was just stupid. A big jerk-face. An assclown. More idiotic than a skeleton. An annoying prick. Dumb as a rock. A mean fart face. A stupid crappy excuse for a boyfriend (if he ever was one). Nya was a hundred and ten percent done with his shit. She would not just sit here and be slut shamed for nothing. The red-clad samurai would never dare be so violently disrespected and just take it. She didn't know why Jay wanted to throw a hissy fit and suddenly whine about that fact that she was apparently being 'mean' to him, but she didn't care. She might've cared a day before, but that was in the past. This was now and Nya was not dealing with it anymore.

If he wasn't such a dunce-headed ninja with absolutely no knowledge of anything other than his stupid games, maybe he'd realize the reason she was so off towards him. Nya thought that if she just hinted towards it, maybe he'd get a hint. So, she was right in some degree.

He definitely got something, but it wasn't what she expected.

Where the hell did he get the idea that she was flirting with Cole?

That was just total bullshit. Was he that self-conscious? Was he really that insecure? Was he really that…dumb!? First of all, Nya had gotten her priorities and feelings straight. Jay should know, out of all people. He was there when she clearly stated, _"I like you Jay."_ Obviously that just ran into one ear and skipped out the other. Second of all, Nya does a lot of things, but she does play dirty. Not only was it dishonorable as a samurai, but it just wasn't her. Her guilty conscious would eat her up on the spot. Jay apparently didn't know her well enough to think that through. So how dare he accuse her of doing something as low as that. And lastly, Cole doesn't even like her like that. It would just seem desperate if she were to try and throw herself on him just to make Jay jealous. So…

Pulling her legs into her chest, the dark-haired girl sighed miserably, ignoring her brother's pleas for her to open up. She needed some time to think. That's all she needed. She didn't feel like being bothered. For the time being, Nya would prefer it if she were allowed some time to shut down and float within her mind.

Eventually, Kai got the memo.

Nya's head lied in between her knees, her cheekbones uncomfortably squished from her kneecaps, but she was too busy moping to care. She thought back to the events that took place not too long ago. The clear memory of the Blue Ninja's entire body radiating electricity and his eyes glowing a yellow hue haunted her eyes. A great amount of power she has never seen from him had suddenly come upon him because of his anger. to see Jay angry was quite a sight. It wasn't a fun one either. To be honest, Nya couldn't remember the last time she'd seen him genuinely angry, if not at all. He was a happy, air-head, light person that freaked out about things for a second but then forgot about it the next. He wasn't laid-back, per say, but he definitely wasn't uptight about a lot of things. He was a real jokester at heart too. That was handy but it could become a bit annoying.

When Jay pushed the Earth Ninja away from her, glaring at him so viciously she swore she saw venom leak from his sockets, Nya was paralyzed with rage. Just seeing him wrongly accuse someone innocent just because of his own securities just made her go red. He started spitting out his disillusions and acting as if everything that came out of his mouth was a fact. No one would ever know how much Nya wanted to just pull her fist back and knock him out so everyone would be graced with silence. She was sure Cole wouldn't have a problem with it.

The poor guy was probably beating himself up. If she knew Cole as well as she thought she did, Nya knew for a fact that he was finding ways to blame himself for this. He shouldn't be but the deep frown that creased his handsome face said it clearly. He was thinking that the dumb love triangle would come back with full force except, this time, he would be in it against his will and Jay would truly despise him for his involuntary involvement.

Nya sighed once again and rubbed her red eyes. A familiar burning sensation rubbed her eyes raw and she sniffled, biting back her tears. A couple minutes passed and she composed herself enough to know the tears would not leave her body. Nya wasn't really upset with Jay's name calling. Out of all the things he's ever said to her, she knew he did not mean that whatsoever. At least she hoped so. When Cole interfered, because she was frozen with shock, anyone could clearly see the disturbance in his dark blue irises. It was like Jay didn't want to believe what he was saying. It was like he didn't even want to hear it. And when their team leader scolded him darkly for it, he was at his boiling point and then a great storm hit.

That what you get when you're the Master of Lightning, she guessed.

As the time passed on, Nya found her eyes begin to get heavy with drowsiness. And as the tiredness hit, the thoughts of her messed up love life had begun to flee. She didn't know if she was just sleepy or she simply didn't give a crap anymore. The young samurai found herself wanting to choose the latter because it just seemed badass. She also wanted to turn her head for a more comfortable position to sleep in but that would tempt her to look at Jay and she just didn't want to deal with the foreboding thoughts again. So, she just remained in her position and began to doze off into a careless sleep.

That lasted for about a good twenty minutes. Nya wasn't even fully asleep. She was still floating between blissful unconsciousness and painless awareness. Tiny voices, that didn't bother her before, began to pick at her ears and edge her weighty eyelids to raise the blinds. Irritated, but too sleepy to really act on it, the red-clad samurai lifted her head. An ache in her neck sprinted through the back of her head and the top of her back. Nya rubbed the soreness as best as she could while trying to get her senses to work as one again. Once, she was able to compose herself, smacking her lips of the bitter taste in her mouth, she looked to her left to see most of the group up and in a weird circle.

It didn't take her long to feel the tenseness basically radiating off of the ninja. Her eyes scanned over her brother's uncomfortable eyes looking back at Lloyd who looked as if he was either worried or completely done with whatever was going on. She couldn't see Chelsea's face but the glare that Cole gave her back made Nya's dark brows scrunch together in utter confusion. Zane leaned in and whispered something to him and the muscular man's muscles relaxed a bit and he turned his body away from the kunoichi's. Chelsea just stood there as the others talked and Nya felt this strong urge to get defensive for her. Why, she wouldn't be able to tell, but the feeling was there.

"Right. I remember sensei telling us that the emeralds could teleport us. We need to figure out a way to activate them so we can get out of here," Cole grunted, his eyes turning dark as they glanced between each set of eyes.

Any thoughts of the emerald completely left the petite woman's mind during their excavation here. With everything that went on, the scarce jewels did not once cross her mind. Slowly, so she wouldn't lose her balance, Nya rose to her feet. No one seemed to notice.

Kai nodded and his fingers subtly picked with each other, a habit he caught onto when he got nervous. "I'm sure if we just work on it, in no time, we'll be out of here." From inside his hoodie, he took out his emerald and as it glowed, so did his eyes. "Somehow, they react when-"

"My emerald is glowing," Chelsea suddenly said and Nya saw the chance to intervene and she took it.

Walking over to the group, she said, "That means there's another emerald here, right?" She put a comforting hand on the Grey Ninja's shoulder. Chelsea gave a grateful smile and Nya nodded. Brown eyes got very dark when they were troubled, she noted.

She needed an excuse so that they'd be able to talk with reason. The emeralds really came in handy sometimes. Not only were they good for saving lives, but they could also diverge attention. "Let's start searching for it then. Eltanse is obviously following us, so we need to act now." Someone was bound to ask of something related to Jay, so without leaving any room for that, Nya gave Chelsea a reassuring look and the two walked into the darkness.

She didn't really notice if Jay came along or not.

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: Hey guys! Long time, no see. Sorry I've disappeared for a bit. Between all the studying, tests, and an invitation to go to fucking Yale or Harvard for a conference, I've had no time. Not to mention flag football and piano have taken up literally all my time. So, again, I'm sorry. This is a shorter chapter but it'll come along. _**

**_Tell me what you think! That's all for now, but stayed tuned for the next chapter._**

**_All the love. You guys rock._**

**_Sylvia-Ann~_**


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: All Ninjago characters and concepts belong to Lego. All OCs and other concepts belong to me. **

* * *

><p><em>"…<em>_a man after his own heart…"  
>—Unknown Author<em>

* * *

><p>Chapter 8<p>

**_In the Cave—12:30 P.M._**

With both Lloyd and Kai providing light and warmth, they trekked through the dark walls of the cave. The stony grey material was a serious damper to their already down-y moods, but no one really cared at this point. So far, it was all just rock, but peculiarly, it seemed as the smooth ground subtly increased in elevation with each quarter of a mile. They addressed it sometime ago and they decided to just keep going.

It was quiet, as expected. Not only was the female ninja's obvious annoyance causing tightness, but the air between Nya and Jay wasn't helping. The dark-haired woman had recently discovered he was walking behind her. Nya almost had to suppress an eye roll. The Lightning Ninja probably didn't even know he was making things way more uncomfortable than they needed to be. Okay, if two people are in a fight, they usually wouldn't want to be so close to each other. But of course, Jay wouldn't know that, or maybe didn't care enough to know. He'd rather just ignore the obvious and go along with his dim-witted thoughts.

He was just so freaking _annoying_ and _oblivious_ and if he honestly thought she was trying to flirt with Cole he was a bigger clown than she thought and-

"Boys are annoying," Chelsea lowly huffed.

Before Nya could even thinking about her words, she muttered, "Are you telepathic or something?" The two looked at each other and gave humorous smiles but couldn't fully laugh.

Chelsea looked down at her glowing emerald to see it glow a bit brighter. She took a quick glance behind them to make sure the boys weren't close enough to hear them. She sighed. "So, mind telling me why Jay went berserk and almost killed rocks-for-brains over there?"

She groaned. "Well, let's just say his assumptions aren't usually correct."

"Assumptions?" the other lead on.

"He thinks Cole and I have a thing for each other even though we've _clearly_ stated that nothing is going on between us," Nya explained quietly.

Her terse expression gave way to the fact that the young samurai was obviously agitated and distinctly over whatever has been going on. Chelsea wasn't up to date about anything going on. To her knowledge, she knew for a fact that Nya and Jay liked each other very much and had only recently learned that Cole had also had a thing for the beautiful warrior. Whether or not he still felt something more towards her was something the Grey Ninja was still pondering quite strongly, if she were to admit.

In all, Chelsea could, quite frankly, understand the Lightning Ninja's anger and insecurity. In addition to competition, in her short time being here, it was blatantly obvious the blue-clad ninja was head over heels for Nya. There wasn't a day Chelsea didn't see him fawning over her as she spoke about a new device, her interests, and even simply her hair. He was a young man that had fallen in love so hard, that he was paranoid of anything that threatened to take her away from him. It was like a crush that had grew into a tidy obsession. He was lucky that Nya had also fallen for him so he wasn't forced to be closed off about it. Though that was true, it also meant he had no intentions of hiding his jealousy or anger and that he would confront the things that scared him.

The Master of Shadows didn't know the red-headed man that well, but she knew him well enough to know that he wouldn't get that angry over nothing. Jay had basically conjured up a life-threatening thunder bolt from the sky and was probably aiming it for their leader. Even if Cole and Nya had happened to pass flirtatious gazes at each other that still wouldn't be enough for Jay to hurt the Black Ninja with extravagantly dangerous injuries purposely. No one would be that fatuous (hopefully). Jay was a worrier, but he wasn't unreasonable and deranged. Now, Chelsea wasn't trying to pass as if she knew Jay very well, nor was she trying to justify his actions, but she could evaluate the situation well enough to know there was something building up in the blue-clad ninja's chest. It was only now, for some reason, he decided to let it out in a precarious strike.

Literally.

"Sometimes I think people just like to imagine things to justify their insecurities," Chelsea thought aloud. She didn't fully voice her opinions all because she did not want to say anything to anger the young samurai and make her keep from voicing her true thoughts.

Nya sighed in agreement. Her verdant eyes were half-covered by tired pale blinds and she shook her head as recent events filled her mind. "I couldn't agree more," she muttered.

Nya's hands wrapped around her upper arms in order to keep in whatever warmth she had left. The temperature was slowly dropping as they traveled deeper into the cave. The elevation wasn't increasing for the time being, but they were walking up a slight hill and most of the group's shins were starting to feel it. Red and silver aided the fire in illuminating the pathway of which they were walking. The caves walls were still as dull as ever but there was a subtle change in their color. A dark blue-purple tint covered the stony edges creating a slightly eerie atmosphere that went unknown to the group.

"I want you and Jay to talk about this after we find the emerald," Chelsea suddenly said.

The dark-haired woman lifted her eyes up to the taller one. Chelsea glanced at her before her eyes averted back to the dark path. Even so, a small gentle smile was drawn upon her lips as Nya shook her head and gave her a dead-panned look.

"No."

Chelsea chuckled. "You're gonna have to at some point, Nya. You can't just try and ignore the problem. Trust me, it's better to just get things straight before things start getting awkward." She didn't know where this wise, educated, side of her was coming from. She guessed all those clinical psychology classes were coming in handy.

As childish as it was, Nya shrugged. "I've tried multiple times to get Jay to talk and each time he asks the dumbest questions. Who cares about cherry pie? It's like talking to a rock. I'd rather just not talk to him and avoid the possibility of anyone getting hurt."

The ninja gave the samurai a knowing look. "Now you know Jay would never lay a finger on you."

Nya raised a humorous brow. "Who said I would be the one getting hurt?"

"Touché."

The two girls laughed over the semi-joke. Soon as it was over, the tension had ebbed away sparsely. Nya's hands flew behind her back as she walked. Her eyes glinted mischievously and they continually glanced up at the kunoichi. For so long, the attention had been on her and they had only talked about what she should do with her anger. Nya was in the right to say that she wasn't the only one that wasn't confronting her problems. If she remembered correctly, the reason why they were walking right now was because Nya had successfully removed some the attention off of Chelsea. There was certainly something wrong with the kunoichi and some of the ninja and now it was her turn to give advice.

"You know, you seemed quite angry not too long ago."

An instant reaction came from the Shadow Master. Chelsea bit her lip subtly and her dark eyes darted over to the side of the cave walls. She gave an annoyed look to Nya who only smiled with a brow raised. It was obvious she was uncomfortable with the way she rolled her shoulders back. Her deep sigh gave it away.

"I'm over that now. It's nothing," she answered too quickly.

"Seemed like nothing to me," she teased, her voice rising high in a sing-song note. "Sounded like you and Cole had it in for each other."

Chelsea gave her a look that told her to quiet down as her eyes darted back, looking for an unwanted crowd. "Okay, I said something mean and started something when I didn't have to. It was my fault and I'll apologize later, now will you shhhhh!" she whisper-shouted, a bit of laughter trailing after her words.

Her defensiveness and worry caused hilarity to come spewing out of both their lips. Nya bumped her hip with Chelsea's. "What? Is Dr. Millard too scared to take a sip of her own medicine?" she taunted.

"Hardy har har. Very funny. Aren't you the jokester?"

"Who's the psychologist now?" Nya winked.

Chelsea rolled her eyes and pulled a playfully annoyed face before chuckling. The two walked on for a bit in peaceful silence. Then, the Grey Ninja blinked inquisitively and looked down at her shorter companion. "Cherry pie?" she questioned with the utmost confusion.

Nya groaned. "Don't even get me started."

* * *

><p><strong><em>Still in the cave—(unfortunately)—1:23 P.M.<em>**

Now their legs were really starting to hurt,

In addition to the arguably steep incline, the only reason why the heroic group hasn't dropped dead was because of the underlying fear of added tension. If it weren't for the obvious venom flowing in the air between a few choice people, they would've gladly stopped. There was major fear of anything starting again, and it was something that would be a hefty hindrance in their seemingly desultory escapade for the blue emerald.

Kai and Lloyd were beginning to feel the effects of the having the flames light upon their hand for so long. The energy was slowly draining from them and they noticeably started to sweat. Tiny beads ran across Kai's temple and he saw blond ninja's chest contract in quicker beats. He wiped away his sweat and shook his head to rid himself of his blurry vision. Exhaustion was starting to creep up on him on it would do them no good if he were to just use all of his energy. They all needed to contain, at least, half the energy to fight for any oncoming enemies if need be.

"Where is this emerald? Lloyd and I are starting to tire out," he grunted tiredly.

Gradually, the group slowed to a stop and Lloyd's relief was completely visible.

"We can't stay at a stand-still for too long. Eltanse obviously knows we are here and she most likely sent her soldiers to look for the emerald. We don't have much time," Cole said.

"Here, why don't we use the emeralds for light instead? They're it brighter so it should suffice," Chelsea suggested. Holding her gem tightly in her hand, she nodded at the two fire wielders to cease their light, which they did. Taking out his emerald, Kai held it out for it shine brightly. In combination with the grey light, the two emeralds were able to light a good distance in front of them. It was enough for each member to see where they would step. So, they continued on.

For about another twenty minutes, or so, they trekked along the smooth, hard, stony walkway. The two emeralds were beginning to brighten to the point where its captors were forced to hold it out a bit from their eyes.

"The emeralds must be close," Zane announced, taking note of the increase of brightness.

"I feel something," Jay quietly stated. The rest turned their heads to focus on the ninja who hadn't uttered a word since they had been trapped inside this cave. The blue-clad man's face was stern with concentration as he timidly stepped forward, his dark blue irises lighting up with acquiescence. In Jay's chest was this tug. It was so small, he doubted it, thinking it was just the storm of emotions whizzing around his person. But he had learned to tune the stir of maddening thunder. This atypical feeling of being pulled in was something that appeared without warning.

"What do you mean?" Lloyd asked, trying to make sense of the sudden outburst.

"There's something here and it's close," the ninja replied.

As he stepped forward, the tiny steps seemed to strengthen the fish lines and lured him towards something powerful. There was something in there calling out to him and begging for him to retrieve it. With all traces of hesitation gone, the pale-skinned man took off in a diligent sprint.

In surprise, the rest looked at each other before running after Jay, shouting his name in question. Cole's thick brows furrowed in alarm and bewilderment from the sudden event. Had the Lightning Ninja cracked? Had the conflict between he, Nya and him broken his mind and, in effect, produced hallucinatory noises and feelings? The team leader's anger towards the smaller man faded as blurring apprehension filled his tight chest. "What is he talking about?" he asked out loud to no one in particular.

"He feels the emerald," the auburn-haired panted, a perspicuous smirk growing on his face. From his peripheral vision, he saw the muscular man raise a questionable brow urging him to further explain his claim. "Before I found my emerald, I felt this pull, almost like it was magnetic, willing me to start digging in a certain place. Jay is experiencing the same thing and I believe we've just found our third emerald."

Slowing to a stop, Jay saw he was running out of the end of the long hallway. On the other side was a dome like shaped interior. It was huge and vacant. The air was damper and it smelled moist and humid. Not too far in front of him was an insanely tall chunk of rock proudly bearing the azure emerald. The precious jewel casted a brilliant glow, illuminating the weary environment.

"Woah," he admired softly. Truth be told, it was a very magnificent sight.

Behind him, the rest of the group had finally caught up to the speedy ninja. They took the moment to catch their breath before standing straight up and observing the eerily empty dome of stone. The shining gemstone was just vulnerably sitting on a slab of rock, out for anyone to just freely take it. The stony stand was at least forty feet tall and there didn't seem to be any sign of indentations to just climb on ascending stand.

But that was no problem for Jay.

Taking a couple steps back, he tensed his muscles, and gritted his teeth, before sprinting forward. On his last step, he bent his knees and easily sprung into the air. For a split second, he appeared to defy gravity and land on a wall. Because of the close proximity between the cave wall and the tall statue of stone, Jay was able to bounce between the two pieces of stone. Soon enough, he jumped towards the cerulean emerald and took it, landing dexterously on his feet. From such a long jump, he graciously fell on one knee to even out the impact. Steadily rising to his feet, his gaze still on the emerald, he held it out for showcase.

"Got it," he declared.

Lloyd nodded and looked between them. "Now we just need to find a way to get out of this place."

"I wish we knew how to teleport with these things," Chelsea muttered, her thumb running over the glassy edges of the gem. "It would make things a lot easier."

Zane looked around and tried to think of anything that would bring them closer to freedom from this place. He looked at the tall stand of stone and his apparatus began to calculate. Just as he was about to suggest an idea, a slight tremor had traveled up his body. Immediately, his body tensed and the White Ninja's pale eyes scanned the ground for anything that could've caused the sudden shake. Another shake jolted up his body and Zane was sure this was not something to take lightly.

"This is peculiar," he muttered to himself.

Apparently his concern was salient because he felt a gentle hand placed upon his shoulder. Nya's verdant eyes glowed with worry at the nindroid. "Is everything okay Zane?"

Not wanting to cause any distress, Zane was planning on just calmly explaining his thoughts, but this cave had other plans. With a deafening crack, the slab of stone that once safely held the emerald split in half, unexpectedly. The unsuspecting group jumped in fright as the crack slammed down on the ground. The Ice Ninja's eyes darted towards the ground, his senses detecting dangerous movement running straight through it and aiming towards them. Before anyone could say anything, in a moment of panic, he shouted, "Move towards the closest wall! Now!" His voice held no room for question and the others quickly did as they were told.

Moments after, the ground split into two, a hazardous line splitting them. The ground now shook without a care forcing the ninja and samurai to hold onto the wall to keep on their feet.

"What's happening!?" Chelsea shouted worriedly. She was jolted forward but was able to stand as straight as she could with Cole's help.

"The cave must be falling apart," Jay thought aloud. He looked down at the blue gem. It must've been keeping this cave steady. "It's because I took the emerald. We have to get out of here!"

Trying their best, they headed towards the hallway. They struggled to keep on their feet as the tremors began to feel like borderline earthquakes. Rocks began to fall from the ceiling and sharp-tipped, cone-shaped, stag mites struck the ground. Starting from the back, the top of the dome shaped cave began to crack, slithering to cut off the only way to safety like a snake. Zane was the first to see this and his expression contorted into one of minor horror. Cole followed his alarmed gaze and when he saw the crack growing larger, her shouted, "Faster! Faster!"

Lloyd almost stumbled to the ground from being pushed by the black-clad ninja. "We're going as fast as we can!" he reminded in pants as he tried to speed his steps up.

In a matter of minutes, Kai was able to make it along to the other side. Next, Lloyd jumped to his side. He helped down Chelsea who sighed in relief. Zane and Nya jumped too. Unfortunately, the crack had reached the safety point before either Jay or Cole could cross and it abruptly separated them from the group. The Fire Ninja's eyes widened as he saw the other two walk closer to each other, worriedly observing their surroundings deteriorate. "No! Jay! Cole!"

The stone they were upon stayed in its place as the rest of the foundation crumbled with each passing second. The piece of stone the others were on roughly began to perish. They screamed and shouted in alarm as they felt their stomachs in their throats and their stability was stolen from them.

Cole and Jay watched in fright, stumbling upon themselves as they unconsciously huddled towards each other. The Blue Ninja fell backwards and yelped as his feet scrambled to get away from the crumbling stone. "W-what are we gonna do now!?" he yelled, his voice wavering.

Looking behind him, the black-clad ninja saw that there was a little pathway leading upwards. The matter of how safe and stable that would be slipped from Cole's mind as it seemed it was the only thing that gave them the slightest chance of surviving this. "Follow me!" he shouted and then turned on his heel, taking off. Jay quickly scurried to his feet and followed after him.

As the exterior walls crumbled to dust, the wind was harshly shoved unto the ninja's faces. Because of the high elevation, the wind howled in their ears and forced their eyes to narrow down. It was more of a hassle to keep walking. Jay and Cole used their forearms as shields.

"Can't you use your scythe or something? Aren't you supposed to be the Master of Earth or something?" Jay yelled.

The snarky tone immediately ticked the dark-haired man off. He grunted as his foot was knocked against a small rock. Cole didn't know if Jay was taking out his anger on him for his delusional reasons but he was not about to entertain his childish. Especially at a time like this. "In case you haven't noticed, I don't have my scythe. And if I were to try and use my powers, there a very high chance I'll crush whatever ground is left up here."

"Can't you just summon some more ground or something?"

"I've never brought up rock to this height before. I don't think I could do it safely right now."

Jay snorted sourly. "Go figure."

That was the last straw for Cole. Abruptly turning around, a nasty scowl decorated his expression. He stomped towards the blue-eyed ninja, no longer caring about the deteriorating ground. He was just so sick and tired of Jay's attitude. First, Jay accuses him of stealing Nya and now he's belittling him for not being able to save them. He didn't see the other do anything but complain this entire time. Who was he to act like that towards him? Cole didn't think he deserved this type of treatment because he had done nothing.

"Listen, Jay, I don't know why you're so bitter towards me for something I didn't do, but it needs to stop right now. I'm sick of it," he growled sternly.

Standing firmly in his spot, the red-haired man balled his hands into fists, determined not to be intimidated by the other's strong stature. "Do you know what I'm sick of? I'm sick being trampled on all the time and everyone thinking I won't do anything! Well you know what, that's not happening this time. I know you're trying to get in between Nya and I again and I'm not going to let that happen so don't tell me you haven't done anything and act innocent!"

Cole almost gaped incredulously. He threw his hands in the air and stepped closer. "How many times do I have to tell you!? I don't like Nya! Dude, I've said that five million times already! I don't know what you're seeing but I can assure you that nothing is going on between us!"

Jay felt a surge go through his body as anger boiled in his blood. Looking at Cole just made him so angry that he wanted to crush something. (Or better yet, him). He knew Cole was lying. He had to be. Jay had seen them send each other flirtatious winks and junk like that to each other. His eyes would never betray him. And it was just like the rocky elemental master to slither his way in between he and Nya when she was angry. And that fact that the young samurai consciously decided to go along with it just made it maddening.

"Stop lying to me!" he roared, his teeth grinding against each other harshly.

Cole's eyes widened at the rumbling outburst. Ever since they'd even gone anywhere near this damned cave, all Jay has been doing is blowing up. The tiniest thing would set him off and that wasn't like the goofy ninja at all. Since the first explosion, when he had completely lost control over his anger and let irrationality take over, Cole knew there must've been a lot more going on or at least something influencing him. Jay wasn't the type of person to just go and attack someone after one offense. It takes quite a lot to set this guy off, and even then, he wouldn't be so brash.

"I thought I could trust you! I thought you were my brother! My…my friend!" Jay snarled.

From the side of Jay's waist, Cole's verdant gaze latched onto the glow of the emerald. Along with that, he saw the younger one's eyes begin to glow just like before. Then, everything clicked. The emerald must have a big part in this. It was a guess, but he speculated that the azure gem was affecting the rationality of his mind. Jay already thinks that he and Nya are having a fling but it was the gem that was making him approach this the wrong way.

Cole had to calm the earthquake inside his chest from his blue brother's last comment. It hurt way more than he would've ever thought but he reminded himself that biting back would only make matters worse. Taking a deep breath, the black ninja raise his hands in defeat. He let the angry expression melt off his face and replaced it with one of remorse and comeuppance.

"Jay, buddy, you have to believe me when I say that there is nothing going on between Nya and I! I wouldn't try and take her away from you like that," he began.

"How can I trust you!? It didn't stop you before." The blue jewel now floated beside Jay and Cole was getting worried.

The team leader shook his head. He completely let go of any defensiveness he had before to let Jay know he was being truthful. Up until now, he hadn't known how much he had hurt his friend before. "No, Jay, I only did that be-because of my pride. It was wrong on my part but I thought you were trying to one up me so I just…I just did that to show you up. But I wasn't really trying to hurt you like that. Zaptrap, you gotta believe me. I would never do that to you purposely. Especially now. I love you too much to do that. Please Jay."

The Lightning Master couldn't help but blink. Jay held back the next remark he was planning on throwing at the other. He took a good look at Cole's honest expression and couldn't help but let guilt strike his chest. What if, all this time, there wasn't really anything going on between the ninja and the samurai? What if he was the one being paranoid and his anger was just foolishness? Jay let the anger slip from his system as he thought.

He didn't want to believe Cole would do what he accused him of doing. It was just that he was just so scared that Nya would just one day leave him just because there was something better she wanted and she could not get from him. Of course, there would always be better people, but he didn't want it to be Cole. It would hurt even more if Nya left him for someone so close to him. A machine had practically told her that the muscular man would've been the perfect guy for her. How was he supposed to take that lightly? That's why he was always so critical when he viewed them together. They easily got along and both of them were determined people. To anyone else, their blatant compatibility was most definitely perfect. And that hurt and scared Jay so much at the same time that he just lost it form thinking about it so much.

From his brother's confession, Jay knew he was taking this too far. The sincerity and genuine honesty in the other's voice and body language was enough to signal the Lightning Master to calm down. Maybe it would've been a lot better if he would've just sat down with the two of them and talked it out instead of letting jealousy dictate his every move. Jeez, he has some major apologizing to do. Thinking back on his previous words, he really screwed up.

At least now he would know why Nya would be upset with him.

Jay sighed heavily. He scratched the nape of his neck as embarrassment and shame crept up on him. "C-Cole…I'm sorry. I didn't mean-"

The other ninja shook his head and let out a relived laugh. He patted Jay's shoulder in friendliness. He was very happy that the emerald had gone back to its rightful place, back in Jay's pocket. "Hey, man, no problem. It's all good. I'm just glad we've-"

Before he could finish, Cole felt his heart leap into his esophagus as he found his foot connected to nothing but air. A startling scream ripped through his lips as he fell back. Jay's quick reflexes proved useful as he shouted the ninja's name and grabbed his arm. Unfortunately, the ground remaining rock beneath him completely diminished and trembled, throwing him over the edge. The two screamed shamelessly as they fell through rough air. The wind whipped their faces and an impending sense of dread filled squeezed their throats.

As Cole gritted his teeth and tried to think of something before their faces met the ground, Jay squeezed his eyes shut. He really didn't feel like staring his certain death in the eyes. He'd rather pretend he wasn't about to be a blue pancake. It was just kind of sad that this was the way he'd go, but at least he'd die without anger and knowing that any bad blood between he and Cole was at least somewhat clear.

"Hey, Jay!" Cole's voice said.

Said man reluctantly opened his eyes to see his brother smile nervously at him. He raised his brows in question, silently wondering how someone could be smiling at a time like this. "Yeah!?"

"Just in case this is how it ends, just know that it's been fun and I love you!"

Jay couldn't help but smile even though the stabbing fear of pain was edging its way through his body. "I love you too! But we're not done yet!" he added cheerfully.

The black ninja furrowed his brows in confusion. Things weren't really looking so good. He really didn't want to be so doubtful but he couldn't help but ask, "How are you so sure?"

"Grab my arm!"

Doing as he was told, Cole latched securely onto the other's arm.

Jay didn't know what possessed him to do this, but he wasn't about to question it. Grabbing the blue emerald, he wrapped his fingers tightly around it and closed his eyes. Unknown words rumbled from the pit of his throat and he let them loose with confidence.

"Inazuma!"

A bright blue light illuminated the air and washed over the ninja, taking them away from their death in a flash.

* * *

><p><strong><em>AN: Jesus…I'm finally done. I've worked on this chapter for weeks. I literally had the worst writers block ever. I would write a sentence then lose all of my motivation then write another sentence and then not know how to word my thoughts and it was just all so tiring. One time, I even fell asleep (kinda) while typing and I started typing something about bananas O.o _**

**_I don't even know what's happening anymore. _**

**_In addition, school is getting harder and when people say the drama really starts at high school…believe them. _**

**_Lesson #1 kids: People will try and start shit for no reason. So if you find that one of your 'friends' likes to do this, drop them. I guarantee you, you won't even see them in four years so save yourself a lot of trouble. _**

**_Anyway, enough of that. What'd you think? I hope it was good enough and I really wanted to work on Jay and Cole's relationship. I was thinking of making Jay save Nya but it's kind of cliché to go that route so I did this. I hope you enjoyed this chapter._**

**_And thank you so much for your comments, faves, and follows! They really mean a lot. Remember, comments push me to write faster! So keep them coming!_**

**_You guys rock!_**

**_Sylvia-Ann~_**


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